Times rejects Guild offer, links future of talks to pension freeze

04/17/2012 

 NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

Nearly two weeks after the Guild presented a significant counter-proposal, Times negotiators responded today by rejecting virtually every facet of the offer, adding that they had no interest in pursuing contract talks until the Guild agreed to their pension-freeze demand.“

Unless you agree to freeze the pension, there’s not going to be a consensual agreement,” said The Times’s lead negotiator, Bernard Plum. “All the other stuff is just shadow boxing.”

The Guild negotiating team ended the session after management made it clear it was not willing to discuss anything other than a pension freeze.

The only element of the Guild’s latest offer accepted by management was the five-hour option that would allow overtime between 35 and 40 hours a week to be taken as a day off. 

Accepting that the first five hours of overtime per week would be paid at straight time, instead of time and a half, was a substantial concession made by the Guild to help advance negotiations, now in their fourteenth month. However, management still insists on reserving the right to regularly schedule employees on 40-hour weeks, without the option of using the extra five hours for comp days.

When Plum accused the Guild of refusing to talk about a pension freeze, President Bill O’Meara reminded him that the Guild had not refused to discuss the issue and had previously floated the idea of  a “soft” freeze (which would only impact future hires), which the company quickly shot down. O’Meara added, “Our members don’t see a value for a pension freeze based on the company’s current proposals.”

The Times’s current offer includes a mere 1 percent wage increase over three years, an increase in its health care contribution by an unsustainable 0.2 percent, and cutting its employee retirement contributions by more than half.

O’Meara told Plum: “To say that our members have to take a 10 to 15 percent cut in compensation, it’s no wonder they’re not happy.”

The Times dropped two minor proposals that were being handled in subcommittee: experience credit and salary on promotion.

David Kocieniewski, one of two Pulitzer Prize winners at The New York Times this year, with daughters Devin and Katia Barricklow at a Times victory celebration on April 16. The red sticker on Kocieniewski's jacket says "Guild."

Many thanks to the observers present, including David Kocieniewski on the morning after being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.

The next negotiating session is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, at the Guild office.

Tuesday April 17, let's close down GE's tax hole at Rockefeller Center

GE is possibly the worst corporate tax-dodger in the country, making billions off the 99%. In New York alone, GE's tax dodging has cost us $297 million - money that could go to educating our children, keeping our neighborhoods safe, providing healthcare for our seniors, or creating good jobs in our communities.

Well...Not. Any. More.

On Tax Day, Tuesday April 17, we're heading to GE's most famous subsidiary, NBC, located at 30 Rock, in the heart of Manhattan, with a little surprise for GE, and a little party for ourselves. Our beautiful secret weapon, The Iluminator, will be there to shine a light on GE's misdeeds. And the Tax Dodgers will take the plaza in their high-styling baseball duds and "go to bat for the 1%."

Come on out Tuesday night and let's close down GE's tax hole at Rockefeller Center. Popcorn will be served.

Later this month thousands of 99%ers are planning to swarm GE's shareholder meeting in Detroit, and they're looking to us to set the tone. Let's not disappoint!

Standard & Poor's, Is Their Standard to Make Us Poor?

New York, N.Y. April 13, 2012: Newspaper Guild of New York, CWA Local 31003 represented employees of Standard & Poor's protested the outsourcing of thousands of good paying American jobs by parent company McGraw-Hill today. 

1. The protest outside the 55 Water Street headquarters of S&P included members of Transportation Workers Union Local 100; International Alliance Theatrical Stage Employees Local One; Communication Workers of America Local 1104; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1212; and DC 37 American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees Local 1455.

McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw, who serves on President Obama's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, has shipped thousands of jobs overseas, and despite having posted profits in excess of $ 900 million dollars last year, is poised to send thousands more American jobs to India.

DC 37, AFSCME Local 1455 members, with Local President, Michael Demarco

The Newspaper Guild of New York represents 450 McGraw-Hill employees at Standard & Poor's, many of whom are at risk of losing their jobs.

Members of The Newspaper Guild, CWA local 31003 at S&P Protest

Epic Hypocrisy at the New York Times

by John Hinderaker

Powerline

When it comes to unions, the New York Times is conflicted to say the least. In the political arena, the paper is vociferously pro-union. Thus, its editorial board has denounced Scott Walker and Wisconsin’s Republicans on a number of occasions, such as this August 10, 2011 editorial titled “Wisconsin’s Warning to Union-Busters:”

Five months after Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin pushed through a law stripping public unions of their bargaining rights, the Republican Party has paid a price. …
Mr. Walker and his colleagues tried to paint the unions as unwilling to sacrifice a bit of their pensions and health benefits in rough fiscal times. It was heartening to see more than 160,000 Wisconsin voters reject that false notion.

But the Times, just like the people of Wisconsin, employs union labor. When it comes to its own employees, the New York Times Company sings an entirely different tune. Today’s New York Post reports on the bitter hostility between CEO Pinch Sulzburger and the paper’s labor force:

“The Times is in labor turmoil,” wrote health and science reporter Donald McNeil. “Journalists are openly angry. Even the sacred Page One meeting has had a protest”

Negotiations with the Newspaper Guild, in which the company is proposing to gut the company's once lucrative retirement and pension programs, remain acrimonious.
The Guild, with over 1,000 members, has been without a contract since March 31, 2011.

John H. Hinderaker is a lawyer with a nationwide litigation practice. For twenty years Hinderaker has written with his former law partner Scott Johnson on public policy issues including income inequality, income taxes, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, welfare reform, and race in the criminal justice system. Their articles have appeared in National Review, The Weekly Standard, The American Enterprise, American Experiment Quarterly, and newspapers from Florida to California. The Claremont Institute has archived many of their articles here.

Is Arthur Sulzberger a Putz?

He is according to the headline of a Next Media Animation  cartoon posted on YouTube.

NMA.tv, a Taipei based animated news company, is the brain child of Taiwanese animators Jen-Jen and Vanessa (No last names given)  Their website promises "news that is sexy, eye-popping and fun, with a lively point of view on global politics, entertainment, sports and more!"

Taiwanese animators Jen-Jen and Vanessa

The animators posted the following explanation for their verdict on the character of the globetrotting New York Times publisher:

"New York Times reporter Don McNeil ripped publisher Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. for piloting a "ghost ship" and being being overly fond of management fads and leadership gurus as the paper languishes amid labor strife, in an email sent to roughly 150 New York Times employees. McNeil said Sulzberger spends too much time traveling overseas and speaking at conferences while the New York Times and its staff are in open conflict over the latest collective bargaining agreement and the paper lacks a proper CEO (Sulzberger currently serves as interim CEO)."

See the Video;

http://youtu.be/bc89Y9x0SM0

N.Y. Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger

"Over the last 20 years, Arthur has adopted a series of management consultants." McNeil writes in the email, which was published by Gawker. "First there was W. Edwards Deming, who led workshops having NYT staffers form 'quality circles.' Then there was one whose name I forgot who had us all post plastic-coated cards with 'The Rules of the Road' on our desks ... Then there was Jim Clemmer and his 'Put the Moose on the Table' philosophy that led Arthur to bring the infamous stuffed moose to the town meeting that finished off, former executive editor, Howell Raines."

Sulzberger is scheduled to go on a trek in the Himalayas with his latest corporate guru crush, Wharton School of Business professor Michael Useem.

"We put out a great newspaper every day," McNeil said. "But outside the newsroom, at the corporate level, we're sailing on a ghost ship."

Do you think The New York Times is still a great paper? 

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Pinch takes a blow

Keith J. Kelly

Staffer: In hard Times, Sulzberger travels

A Times staffer’s scorching e-mail attacks Chairman Pinch Sulzberger 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mood is turning uglier inside the New York Times, where publisher and acting CEO Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has again been ripped for his globe-trotting ways, this time by .”

“The Times is in labor turmoil,” wrote health and science reporter Donald McNeil. “Journalists are openly angry. 

Even the sacred Page One meeting has had a protest,” he said, referring to the incident last month in which members of the Newspaper Guild gave a silent stare down to top editors, including Executive Editor Jill Abramson, as they headed to their afternoon meeting.

McNeil went on to blast the Times as a company with no CEO, where Sulzberger this year “canceled his annual State of the Times address.”

A Times spokesman said the company has recently hired headhunter Spencer Stuart to find a replacement for ex-CEO Janet Robinson, who was forced out in December, but who angered rank-and-file workers when it was revealed she had a golden parachute of $24 million.

The e-mail also says that Sulzberger is enthralled with “management gurus” and the latest is Michael Useem. The e-mailer said that Sulzberger will be attending a seminar in the Himalayas with Useem in late May.

“A Nepal trek is very Arthur, since he’s a rock climber and an Outward Bound tripper. But to learn leadership, shouldn’t a 60-year-old corporate chairman already know whether he’s a leader or not? Shouldn’t that have been decided by age 35 or so?”

A Times spokesman said that Sulzberger is actually undertaking the trip as a teacher of a seminar to Wharton School students, where he will “be teaching case studies.” The topics will include the thinking behind the decision to publish the WikiLeaks documents and the decision in 2010 to put most of the Times Web content behind a pay wall. 

The spokesman added that Sulzberger is undertaking the trip on his personal time, not as a corporate trip.

Negotiations with the Newspaper Guild, in which the company is proposing to gut the company’s once lucrative retirement and pension programs, remain acrimonious.

The Guild, with over 1,000 members, has been without a contract since March 31, 2011. 

Talks have recently resumed following the ouster of Robinson, but the size of her severance and other payouts rankled the membership. There is no sign of a settlement in the near term.

 kkelly@nypost.com

New York Civil Liberties Union and National Press Photographers Association Sue Suffolk County

By Chris O'Shea
FISHBOWLNY

New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) are suing Suffolk County for its treatment of Philip Datz, a video journalist with Stringer News Service, who was arrested in July of 2011 while filming police activity. 

The lawsuit claims that Datz was well within his rights and he was unlawfully arrested and detained. The charges have since been dropped.

According to Robert Balin, the lead counsel on the case, the incident is common in Suffolk County. “Mr. Datz’s arrest was not an isolated event,” said Balin. “Suffolk County police officers have a pattern of unlawfully interfering with the recording of police activity conducted in plain view. 

As a journalist, Mr. Datz has a responsibility to cover police activity in public places. The Police Department has a constitutional obligation to respect his First Amendment right to perform this important public service.”

Datz is hoping that his lawsuit will bring about “a comprehensive and effective policy to protect the First Amendment rights of the public and press to observe and record police activity in public, including appropriate training and procedures to test the effectiveness of that policy on the ground and to discipline appropriately those who breach it.” He is also seeking damages for physical, psychological and professional damages and legal fees.

The Datz arrest video can be seen below

.

THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media

This story appears in the April 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
  

If you’re a ruthless tyrant, an American hero or a star with a story to tell, the must-stops for getting your message out are right here. Despite the near infinite amount of outlets and platforms, the fastest and smartest players — whether in broadcast or cable, morning or late-night, politics or even comedy — still drive the national conversation.

The death on April 7 of Mike Wallace — who for nearly four decades was 60 Minutes’ resident pit bull — is a timely reminder, if we needed one, of the power of rigorous journalism to turn newsmen and women into newsmakers. 

PHOTOS: THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media

In addition to its primary function of keeping viewers informed, entertained and moved to action, TV news continues to mint superstars: Matt Lauer (THR's cover subject, who just signed a new Today deal that will make him the highest-paid anchor in history),  

Diane Sawyer (her news bona fides are so well-established, it’s hard to imagine she was ever viewed as a beauty-queen lightweight by Wallace, no less),  

Anderson Cooper (his globe-trotting humanism and unflagging energy have led to not one but three jobs) and Bill O’Reilly (his independent streak has kept him atop the cable-news ratings for 125 consecutive months).

PHOTOS: Outtakes from THR's New York Issue Photo Shoots

And, of course, in this era of political skullduggery and death-match campaigning, the satire of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert has earned them both unparalleled influence (215,000 people attended their 2010 rally in Washington) and status as the incredulous and absurdist voices of a new generation. Meanwhile,  

David Letterman continues to conduct among the most incisive interviews of every political season, asking questions his peers in TV news dare not (“It seems like everyone’s gone wacky in the Republican Party,” he said to John McCain during a January Late Show appearance. “Is it the influence of the Tea Party, or am I over-examining this?”)

.

THR COVER: Matt Lauer on His 36-Hour 'Today' Negotiation, Ann Curry and NBC's Trayvon Martin Mistake

It might be 3,000 miles from Hollywood, but New York still is the media capital of America, where a steady stream of actors, musicians and authors clamor for a slot on Lorne Michaels’ newsmaking Saturday Night Live, the broadcast morning shows, Kelly Ripa's revolving co-host chair and, yes, Wendy Williams’ bawdy daytime chat show.

The Hollywood Reporter's second annual Power List honors the anchors, executives, late-night impresarios and media moguls who drive the news cycle, influence the entertainment industry, take us into the lives of the famous (and infamous) and keep us connected to our world.

Click below for THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media list.

1.   Roger Ailes Chairman and CEO, Fox News read more
2. Jim Bell Executive Producer, NBC’s "Today" and 2012 London Olympics read more
3. Mika Brzezinski & Joe Scarborough Co-hosts, MSNBC "Morning Joe" read more
   
4.   Steve Capus President, NBC News read more
5. Stephen Colbert Host, executive producer, Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" read more
   
6. Anderson Cooper Host, CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" read more
7. Bob Costas Commentator, NBC Sports & Olympics read more 
8. Katie Couric Host, executive producer, "Katie" read more 
9. Ann Curry Co-host, NBC's "Today" read more
10. Jeff Fager Chairman, CBS News; Executive producer, "60 Minutes" read more
11. Jimmy Fallon  Host, "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" read more
12. James Goldston Senior VP content and development, ABC News read more
13. Phil Griffin President, MSNBC read more  
14. Sean Hannity Host, Fox News' "Hannity" read more
15. Arianna Huffington Founder, The Huffington Post read more
16. Steve Kroft Correspondent, CBS' "60 Minutes"read more
17. Matt Lauer Anchor, NBC's "Today" read more
18. David Letterman Host, CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" read more 
19. Rachel Maddow Host, MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" read more
20. Lorne Michaels Creator/executive producer, "Saturday Night Live" .read more
21. Piers Morgan Host, CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" read more
22. Bill O'Reilly Host, Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" read more
23. Scott Pelley Anchor/managing editor, "CBS Evening News" .read more
24. David Rhodes President, CBS News read more
25. Kelly Ripa Host, "Live! With Kelly" read more
26. Robin Roberts Anchor, ABC’s "Good Morning America" read more
27. Charlie Rose Host, Executive Producer, "Charlie Rose;" Co-host, "CBS this Morning;...read more 
28. Diane Sawyer Anchor, ABC's "World News" read more 
29. Ben Sherwood President, ABC News read more
30. George Stephanopoulos Anchor, ABC’s "Good Morning America"; Host, "This Week" read more 
31. Howard Stern Host, SiriusXM Radio; Judge, "America’s Got Talent" read more
32. Jon Stewart Host, Executive Producer, "The Daily Show" read more 
33. Barbara Walters Contributor, "ABC News;" Co-Host/ Executive Producer, "The View" read more 
34. Brian Williams Anchor, Managing editor, "NBC Nightly News" read more 
35. Wendy Williams Host, "The Wendy Williams Show" read more

New York Times Reporter Blasts Boss In Email to 150 of His Best Friends

By John Cook

john@gawker.com

Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

A few weeks ago, New York Times science and health reporter Don McNeil sent out a scathing email to colleagues attacking Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. for piloting a "ghost ship" and running off to the Himalayas with a management guru while the paper founders.

 

The email, sent out to roughly 150 Times reporters and editors in the midst of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the paper's management, lays out the case that Sulzberger—a scion who inherited his role as publisher from his father—is an easily distracted dilettante who's more interested in trendy leadership "philosophies" than newspapering.

At a time when Times reporters are in open revolt over Guild contract talks and the paper lacks a CEO (the last one having been sent packing with a whopping $23 million retirement package), McNeil wrote, Sulzberger has cancelled his annual "State of the Times" talk and failed to offer any words at the memorial service for Times foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid, who died while covering the Syrian conflict.

Instead, McNeil wrote, Sulzberger is in thrall to a "management guru" and Wharton School of Business professor named Michael Useem: 

"So where is Arthur these days? At the small dinners he is having with staff, he offered an answer: He has found a new management guru, Michael Useem. And he is going trekking with Mr. Useem in the Himalayas soon.... A Nepal trek is very Arthur, since he's a rock climber and Outward Bound tripper.... But to learn leadership? 

Shouldn't a 60-year-old corporate chairman already know whether he's a leader or not 

Shouldn't that have been decided by age 35 or so? And a trek now? In mid-crisis?

 We put out a great newspaper every day. But outside the newsroom, at the corporate level, we're sailing on a ghost ship." (Read the full email below.)

The Times offered only the following statement in response: "We look forward to reaching a full and fair agreement with the Guild." 

 It should be noted that the State of the Times address is not a strictly annual event (though the Times itself has described it as such), so Sulzberger's failure to schedule one so far in 2012 isn't unprecedented. 

And I'm told that his Himalayan trek with Useem, which is scheduled for late May, isn't about learning leadership so much as (ahem) teaching it. Sulzberger will be imparting his wisdom to MBA candidates in the mountain setting, using the decisions to publish the Wikileaks documents and institute a pay-wall as case studies.

And not all of McNeil's colleagues supported his attack on Sulzberger.  

Times editor Walter Baranger responded to the email with a plea: "Before this gets out of hand — and I may already be too late — let's throttle the sniping at Arthur."

Here's the full text of McNeil's email:

On 29 Mar 2012, at 08:42, McNeil, Donald wrote

The Times is in labor turmoil. Journalists are openly angry. Even the sacred Page One meeting has had a protest.

The company has no C.E.O.

Arthur has cancelled his annual State of the Times address.

He didn't even speak at Anthony Shadid's memorial. Jill "greeted us in his name" as he sat there.

And don't forget what Bloomberg observed on Jan. 27: "In the meantime, the 60-year-old chairman is serving as interim CEO amid internal concerns about his travels overseas, according to two people familiar with the matter. In the last 19 months, Sulzberger has attended at least a dozen conferences and panels in Istanbul, Beijing, Munich, London, Paris and Switzerland where his girlfriend, Claudia Gonzalez, works."

So where is Arthur these days?

At the small dinners he is having with staff, he offered an answer: He has found a new management guru, Michael Useem. And he is going trekking with Mr. Useem in the Himalayas soon.

No, really.

Michael Useem is the author of "The Leadership Moment" and "The Leader's Checklist." http://www.leighbureau.com/speaker.asp?id=134

He offers annual "Himalayan Leadership Treks": http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/everest/wj98_trek.pdf

The next begins on May 27:

http://www.geoex.com/adventure-travel/nepal/everest-leadership-trek.asp

Quick history lesson: over the last 20 years, Arthur has adopted a series of management consultants. First there was W. Edwards Deming, who led workshops having NYT staffers form "quality circles."

Then there was one whose name I forgot who had us all post plastic-coated cards with "The Rules of the Road" on our desks.

(For a reality-bending trip down memory lane, read the company's web page about those rules of the road: http://www.nytco.com/careers/mission.html Read especially carefully the part at right called Ten Reasons To Work at The New York Times Company. One reason: "You Are Valued," which ends: "And to cap it off, the Company maintains a rich retirement program that helps you build a prosperous financial future.")

Then there was Jim Clemmer and his "Put the Moose on the Table" philosophy that led Arthur to bring the infamous stuffed moose to the town meeting that finished off Howell Raines.

Enter guru No. 4.

A Nepal trek is very Arthur, since he's a rock climber and Outward Bound tripper.
(He discusses that on YouTube here)

But to learn leadership? Shouldn't a 60-year-old corporate chairman already know whether he's a leader or not? Shouldn't that have been decided by age 35 or so?
And a trek now? In mid-crisis?

We put out a great newspaper every day. But outside the newsroom, at the corporate level, we're sailing on a ghost ship.

[Image via Getty]

More From Gawker:

• Pinch's New Pad: Times Boss Buys High-Cost Sky Loft

• Rabid Teen News Junkies Itching to Beat the New York Times' Paywall

• Scandal: Pinch Sulzberger Says Bad Word

   

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New York Times Publisher Planning Jaunt in Himalayas Amid Labor Dispute

By Joe Coscarelli

New York Magazine 

At the end of last year, the New York Times pushed out its CEO Janet Robinson, but gifted her a retirement package worth more than $20 million despite continued economic uncertainty at the company. 

The search for her replacement is ongoing, as are contract negotiations between management and the paper's Newspaper Guild employees. 

Back in February, members staged a silent protest outside the hallowed Page One meeting, but the labor struggle has since been taken up a notch to the logical next step: angry e-mails about the boss.

Reporter Don McNeil sent a pissed missive to about 150 Times employees, and naturally, it was obtained by Gawker. In it, McNeil slams publisher/scion Arthur Sulzberger Jr. for offenses including canceling the 2012 State of the Times address, failing to speak at a memorial for reporter Anthony Shadid, and scheduling an indulgent trip (relevant embarrassing YouTube footage included):

So where is Arthur these days?

At the small dinners he is having with staff, he offered an answer: He has found a new management guru, Michael Useem. And he is going trekking with Mr. Useem in the Himalayas soon.

No, really. … A Nepal trek is very Arthur, since he's a rock climber and Outward Bound tripper.

(He discusses that on YouTube here)

But to learn leadership? Shouldn't a 60-year-old corporate chairman already know whether he's a leader or not? Shouldn't that have been decided by age 35 or so?
And a trek now? In mid-crisis?

We put out a great newspaper every day. But outside the newsroom, at the corporate level, we're sailing on a ghost ship.

One editor responded, "Before this gets out of hand — and I may already be too late — let's throttle the sniping at Arthur." 

Yep, too late.

New York Times Reporter Blasts Boss In Email to 150 of His Best Friends [Gawker] 

Get more: ink-stained wretches, new york times, gawker, arthur sulzberger jr., media

NY Guild Protests S&P Moving Jobs Overseas, Friday, April 13, 2012

OWS 2012 May Day NYC

The following organizations have endorsed May Day 2012:

1199 SEIU

AFSCME DC37


AFSCME DC 37 Retirees Association


AFSCME Local 372 DC 37


AFSCME Local 375 DC 37


American Federation of Musicians Local 802


Anakbayan NY/NJ


BAYAN-USA


Centro Guatemalteco Tecun Uman


CWA Local 31003 The N.Y. Newspaper Guild


CWA Local 1180 

Domestic Workers United

Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FIRE)


GABRIELA-USA


Greater NY Labor-Religion Coalition


Guyanese Workers Alliance


Honduras USA Resistencia


Immigrant Workers Movement


International Action Center 

Industrial Union Council-NJ

IATSE


Jornaleros Unidos de Woodside


La Fuente


La Pena del Bronx


Labor for Palestine


Left Labor Project


LIUNA Local 78


LIUNA Local 79


Long Island Workplace Project


National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) 

National Domestic Workers Alliance

National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981


New York Broadcast Trades Council


New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO


New York City Labor Against the War


New York City LCLAA


New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP)


New York Communities for Change


New York Immigration Coalition


New York Taxi Workers Alliance


Organization of Staff Analysts


Pakistan USA Freedom Forum


Philippine Forum


PSC/CUNY – AFT


Retail Action Project


RWDSU


SEIU 32BJ


Senegalese Workers Association


Teamsters Local 808


TWU Local 100


UAW Region 9A


UNITE HERE


United NY


Workers United SEIU


Workers World Party


Writers Guild of America, East

OWS Spring Awakening, Saturday, April 14, 2012 NYC

Tribune Co. stations go dark for millions of DirecTV subscribers

By Robert Channick, Tribune reporter

DirecTV subscribers in 19 U.S. markets saw all Tribune Co. television stations go dark Sunday as a contract expired, and a very public battle over retransmission fees hit home.  (Paul Taggart, Bloomberg photo / April 1, 2012)

DirecTV subscribers in 19 U.S. markets saw all Tribune Co. television stations go dark Sunday as a contract expired and a battle over retransmission fees hit home.

The blackout began at midnight Saturday after Tribune Broadcasting said it failed to reach an agreement with the satellite television provider in their contract negotiations.

"This situation is extremely unfortunate," Nils Larsen, Tribune Broadcasting president, said in a statement Saturday night. "We don't want anyone to lose the valuable programming we provide, but we simply cannot get fair compensation from DirecTV and we cannot allow DirecTV to continue taking advantage of us."

A Tribune spokesman on Sunday said the companies had yet to reach an agreement.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for DirecTV reiterated a claim that the two sides had reached an agreement Thursday, only to have the Tribune renege:

"Tribune won't admit that we had come to terms earlier, nor will they budge from their current outrageous ask. Regardless, we remain willing and available at a moment's notice to resolve this as soon as possible."

Chicago-based Tribune Co., which owns numerous broadcasting and newspaper properties, including the Chicago Tribune, is seeking retransmission compensation from DirecTV to carry its 23 local television stations and WGN America. Contract negotiations broke down last week, with Tribune Co. threatening to pull the plug on programming.

The 1992 Cable Act gave broadcasters the right to seek retransmission consent fees, which usually range from a few cents to $1 per subscriber per month.

The Tribune has never received any fees from DirecTV to carry its local stations but has been compensated for WGN America programming, according to executives.

Stations affected include local CW and Fox affiliates, cutting off shows such as "American Idol," "Glee," "New Girl" and "Gossip Girl." Major League Baseball's opening day is this week, and DirecTV subscribers are losing access to the Chicago Cubs and White Sox via WGN America, the Mets on WPIX-TV in New York, and the Phillies on WPHL-TV in Philadelphia.

El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV has 19.9 million subscribers, making it the nation's second-largest provider of multichannel video programming distribution behind Comcast Cable. Tribune Co. Chief Executive Eddy Hartenstein is a former CEO of DirecTV.

rchannick@tribune.com