The front page of The News & Observer will take a different approach on Mondays

Starting next week, the front page of The News & Observer will feature a different kind of news on Mondays. Instead of printing what news has already occurred, the Monday editions of the N&O will take a “look ahead” approach, the newspaper reported today.

Starting June 30, Monday’s front page will focus more on what’s going to happen than what has happened. It will look at what’s coming in politics, government, business, sports and culture. In place of the news summary on the left side of the page will be a staff-written news forecast. Stories will be shorter, some holding to the front page.

Financial pressures have put a new emphasis on coverage that uses less space. The Monday A section, for instance, will lose two pages, including the Monday op-ed page.

The change appears to be among several cost-cutting efforts the newspaper announced last week. Those changes include laying off 70 employees, consolidating coverage with the Charlotte Observer and more. All the changes come weeks after the paper announced that subscription rates are increasing.

The N&O concluded its announcement with this sentiment:

But necessity can spur improvement. Next Monday, we hope you’ll agree.

At least the N&O is trying to be innovative in a time when some newspapers seem unwilling to confront and adapt to the changing media landscape.

McClatchy’s budget woes lead News and Observer to cut 70 positions

It’s another sad day for the newspaper industry, as McClatchy Co. announced it is cutting 1,400 jobs across the company. McClatchy owns 30 daily newspapers, including Raleigh’s News & Observer. The N&O announced yesterday that it is laying off 70 people, including 16 newsroom employees.

The N&O will also trim costs by combining its Business and City & State sections, reducing the amount of editions that provide tailored news to different circulation areas and by merging its sports, political and research departments with the Charlotte Observer’s departments, the paper reported. These changes come a week after the newspaper announced that it is raising subscription rates.

The move is meant to help ease McClatchy’s budget woes, according to the company’s news release about the layoffs.

McClatchy’s cash expenses were down 10.5% in the first quarter of 2008 and FTE (full-time equivalent employees) count was down 7.5% from prior year.

The moves announced today will produce annual savings of about $70 million from staff reductions as part of a plan to reduce overall expenses by $95 million to $100 million over the next four quarters. Combined with previous expense control initiatives, the company expects to reduce non-newsprint cash expense in the low double-digit percentage range over the balance of 2008 excluding severance costs of about $30 million.

I should note that I used to work at The Island Packet, a McClatchy-owned newspaper on Hilton Head Island, SC, before accepting my job here at WNCN. The Packet, which has a small staff of hardworking reporters, also suffered two layoffs — a reporter and advertising employee. In a memo to Packet staff, the publisher wrote:

We’re operating in a time of great change and challenge for our operations, for The McClatchy Company and for the newspaper industry overall. Increased competition and a pronounced economic downturn have combined to reduce revenues dramatically, and these cuts are part of the way we must respond.

Obviously the Internet and the economy is having a dramatic effect on the ability of newspapers to make the kind of profits Wall Street likes to see. But the suits seem to forget that while newspapers need to be repurposed, they still need to produce quality content. And engaging human interest stories, investigative reporting and holding the government accountable all take staff. When you eliminate newsroom staff, duties are shifted to reporters who are already busy with their own beats, or in some cases, those duties are eliminated altogether.

A sad day indeed.

The News & Observer raises rates while also considering possible newsroom layoffs

The News & Observer is raising its subscription rates, so says a letter attached to the newspaper that was tossed outside my front door Tuesday.

The increases aren’t much, but they come as the newspaper prepares to possibly lay off 10 percent of its newsroom staff.

A 4-week, home delivery subscription now costs $14.08, up from $12.70. If I’ve done my math right, that comes to an additional $17.94 a year.

The letter says the increases are necessary “in order to continue to provide our customers the highest level of service and to offset significant increases in newsprint, fuel and distribution expenses.”

Rising costs in gas and newsprint and declining ad revenue were cited as reasons why the N&O offered buyouts to about 200 workers this spring. Only six newsroom staffers were reported as accepting the buyouts.

With possible layoffs looming, I take issue that the letter notifying me of the rate increases saying the increases are necessary “to continue to provide our customers the highest level of service.”

Is that really true? I don’t doubt that the reporting, writing and photography continues to be top-notch … but how long will the news staff continue to keep that up with less staff?

Further, I’ve heard that the N&O, like many newspapers, is reducing the number of pages it prints. I don’t know/have specific stats on how many fewer pages there are (or will be) and what sections of the paper they’re coming from (obviously quality is less likely to suffer if the page cuts are coming from say classifieds or comics versus news or sports).

The small increase in subscription rates will not lead me to cancel my subscription to the N&O. It makes sense with the rising gas and newsprint rates. I just wish the circulation guy who wrote the letter would have chosen his words a little more carefully in explaining to me why more money will be deducted from my bank account next month.

It’s sad that the N&O even has to resort to layoffs to cope with McClatchy’s budget problems. But who knows what will happen with the layoffs, some were predicting they would happen Monday, but I haven’t heard of the ax falling yet.

I’m sure a lot of my Internet friends can’t even fathom subscribing to the print edition of the newspaper. Do you think $14.08 every four weeks is worth having the news delivered to your door every morning? How do you think newsroom layoffs might affect the quality of the N&O?

Does the public really get to help pick Durham’s next city manager?

The finalists for Durham’s vacant city manager post will be announced Monday, April 28, according to a news release from city officials. This is exciting news for anyone who pays attention to Durham city government since it’s been a little over four months since city manager Patrick Baker announced that he was resigning. At the time, Mayor Bill Bell pledged to fill the post by the end of June 2008, the Independent Weekly reported.

Also on Monday, the city is also inviting the public and city employees to a forum to ask the finalists questions from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Here’s what annoys me a little (this is my reporter side kicking in). Why is the city choosing to release the names of the finalists on the SAME DAY as the forum? That doesn’t really give the public and employees time to Google the candidates and find out information about their backgrounds that may not be included in their resumes.

Back in 2005, when the city was looking for a city manager to replace Marcia Conner, it announced the finalists two days before the public forum, giving the public (and reporters) ample time to research the finalists before asking their questions. Here’s the article I wrote(PDF) following the ‘05 forum back when I was a reporter for the Herald-Sun.

On the bright side, I think it’s impressive that city leaders are keeping the process somewhat open to the public. Often hiring decisions like these are made with little to no input from the public, so it’s cool that Durham continues to let residents participate in the process.

That being said, does the public really get to help pick Durham’s next city manager? Not really. That’s up to the city council to decide. I guess, in theory, if the public made a big enough stink about one of the candidates that the council may bow to pressure and not pick that candidate.

Still, I wonder how much value the folks in Durham place on having a finalists forum? In 2005, about 120 people showed up. How many do you think will come Monday night?

What if you had to pick a mascot for a local civic issue?

We found out yesterday (thanks to a front page article in the News & Observer) that the city of Raleigh is incapable of picking out a decent logo for water conservation. Today, the N&O announced a contest asking readers to submit ideas for a mascot that could represent local civic issues. Here are some examples the N&O offered to get us thinking:

Invent a mascot for a civic issue in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill or elsewhere and send it to us. Here are a few examples to get you going:

* Terry the Central Raleigh Teardown
* Gus the Wake Reassignment Bus
* Norv the Blueprint, emblem of the Carolina North planning process.
* Crumbles, the DOT Rubble

This is a pretty clever way to engage readers. I’m glad to see the N&O redeeming itself after running the raindrop mascot on the front page yesterday. In fact, that’s probably the reason they ran that ugly thing on the front page, just so they could promote their contest today.

Hmmm. Wonder what a good mascot would be for Ginny from the Blog?

Raindrops keep falling on my newspaper

I’m not sure which of the following is more annoying:

1. The city of Raleigh has announced the creation of the ugliest mascot to help urge residents to cut back on water usage.

OR

2. That the News & Observer chose to feature the poorly-designed mascot today on its front page .

The mascot’s name is “Rainy” and he’s an ugly, blue raindrop with a creepy, toothy grin. The N&O reports that the mascot was made by a graphic designer in the city’s public affairs office. It doesn’t look like the graphic designer logged a lot of time working on it because it’s so poorly designed. I guess that’s a good thing since the designer’s salary is most likely paid through taxes. A better idea would have been to have a contest and see what local high school and college students could have come up with.

OK. Turning to the N&O. Why is this on the front page? Sure, the story is cleverly written and actually features a little background on mascots in other cities. And it’s always nice to balance out the front page with a lighter story. But come on. A poorly designed mascot does not deserve front page play. Put it in the City/State section.

But props to writer David Bracken for this description of the mascot: “Dressed only in boots, gloves and a floppy hat, Rainy bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Potato Head caught in a downpour.”

What do you think? Does the creation of this mascot deserve to be on the front page? And do you think this raindrop makes a good mascot for the city’s water conservation efforts?

Highlights from the Duke v. Belmont game as played by Barbie

Our sports director, Penn Holderness, wanted to find a way to get around an NCAA regulation that says you can’t show highlights from the tournament until all games are over. So on March 20, when Duke beat Belmont in the final seconds of the game, NBC17 couldn’t show highlights on our 11 o’clock show.

But Penn wasn’t going to stand for that. So he recapped the game using dolls including making a stuffed frog play the role of Duke’s Gerald Henderson. You have to see this.

Triangle residents turn to the Internet for sex

This may not be a news flash, but it was on the front page of the News & Observer today. Apparently, local residents are turning to craigslist.com and usasexguide.info for prostitution, the N & O reports.

While the story provides some insight into the local online sex scene, I was left wondering why the editors chose to feature this on the front page today. I read the whole article while eating eggs and drinking coffee, and it was definitely a lighter read. But there didn’t seem to be a strong reason to elevate this story to the front page (at least it was below the fold).

Here’s the nut graph (that paragraph us journalists use to give context for why the story is being written) from the story:

Once a hush-hush trade, prostitution thrives openly on sites like craigslist, buoyed by the flood of online information about how to buy sex cheaply — and avoid getting caught.

Economists and sociologists say the Internet provides the information and anonymity to hire prostitutes in secret, fueling the illegal sex business.

There’s also some information about how local police have bolstered Internet patrols, yet local police officials wouldn’t speak to specifics. I’m glad the N&O did the story. It’s cool that the local newspaper is willing to tackle topics that might turn off (or in this case, turn on) some readers. Still, I’m left wondering whether this is really front page worthy.

What do you think?

Also, I found the picture above pretty amusing. It ran on the jump page beside the N&O’s online sex story. The photo ran under a headline that says: “China’s sex revolution is private.” The caption for photo says: “A Chinese couple walks in a district known for its budget motels near a university in Beijing. The motels are often used for sexual trysts.”

But if that were me and my non-existent boyfriend featured in a picture below a headline like that, you better believe I would not be a happy camper. How would you feel if your picture ran under a headline like that?

Rape victims must pay their hospital bills

When someone goes to the hospital after being raped, doctors use a rape kit to test for evidence. Who would have thought those same rape victims would later receive a bill in the mail for that test?

The News & Observer’s Mandy Locke highlighted this burden today in a well-researched article that left me sad and angry at the system:

The vast majority of the 3,000 or so emergency room patients examined for sexual assaults each year shoulder some of the cost of a rape kit test, according to state records and victim advocates. For some, it’s as little as a $50 insurance co-payment. For those without insurance, it’s hundreds of dollars left when a state program designed to help reaches its limit.

The average hospital bill for a rape kit is $1,600, according to the article. Could you imagine how haunting it would be to receive a bill for those services when you’re trying to put such a horrible violation behind you?

I noticed the N&O posted a follow-up article on its Web site this afternoon saying state leaders are looking for ways to cover the costs not covered by insurance and other reimbursements. It appears that declaration is a direct result of Locke’s article.

It’s important to note that in some cases, Locke reported, hospitals will forgive the balance of the bill for rape victims. But what if a rape victim doesn’t realize this and shells out a few hundred bucks of their hard earned money just to put the past behind them? Or worse, what if a rape victim can’t afford to pay and the bill lingers on their credit report? I’m so glad Locke brought this to light and I hope state lawmakers make good on their word to find money in the state budget to make sure this no longer occurs.

I have a confession: I watched American Idol last night

I’m one of those people who doesn’t really watch American Idol (I say really because I’ve been sucked in a few times before while flipping through the channels). But I sorta pride myself on not being addicted to the show. I like that the TV gods haven’t been able to spoon feed me their latest reality show creation (even if they’ve snagged 30 million+ other people). I like that when one of my co-workers declared she was super excited that Jordin Sparks was singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl this year, that I had to ask whether Jordin was a guy or a gal.

But, alas, I’m going on day four with the flu. And in case you haven’t noticed, there is absolutely nothing worth watching on TV in the wake of the writer’s strike. And while the strike is officially over, it will still be couple weeks before we’re back to semi-decent programming. So last night, I watched Simon, Paula and Randy (I just had to Google his name, I started to type Ruben, but that didn’t seem quite right) narrow down the season’s contestants to 24. I have to admit, the show is kinda catchy, but I don’t think I’ll be seeking it out anytime soon.

Other shows I’ve watched while sick include:

Married with Children, Flip this House, King of the Hill, the Home Shopping Network (I haven’t bought anything yet, but have you seen these creepy stuffed bunnies Marie Osmond is trying to peddle, creepy and cute), Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, the Andy Griffith Show ( in color *yuck*) lots of CNN, Fox News and C-SPAN (I sat through about 15 minutes of an Ann Coulter speech, which may actually have made me more sick) and my final confession … I’ve watched about two full episodes of Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

Oh, and I’ve also discovered this weird little show on Nickelodeon called “Wonder Pets.” If you haven’t seen it before, let me tell you what just happened. The baby chick was happy they helped the bullfrog, so he said something along the lines of “let’s celebrate with some celery” and pulled a piece of the vegetable out of thin air and then the bullfrog said “wait, try it with some Louisiana hot sauce” and pulled a bottle of the sauce out of thin air and poured it on the celery. Then they all ate the celery and lived happily ever after. I may have been hallucinating because of my fever, but I swear I just saw that happen.

So, the question I have for you today is this: Do you watch American Idol? If so, what is it about the show that you like so much. Also, feel free to rib me for my other TV picks. It’s always good to kick a sick girl while she’s down.