It probably would have been overkill if Dave Kuta had actually shown up for his long-scheduled panel discussion at Monday’s meeting of Leadership Long Beach. As it turned out, his absence at the prestigious personal-and-community-development course set an appropriate tone for the afternoon’s general topic: changes in the media. Kuta was fired as publisher of the Press-Telegram last Friday. Talk about changes! He didn’t have to.

Still, it would be nice if somebody in a position of power at the Press-Telegram would say something about the Feb. 29 purge in which the paper’s corporate owner—MediaNews Group, Inc.—eliminated Kuta and about a dozen newsroom employees and advised a dozen others to apply for positions at the Torrance Daily Breeze. Hell, it would be nice if there were somebody in a position of power at the Press-Telegram at all anymore. Somebody from Long Beach, that is.

The worst part of Friday’s terrible dismemberment of the city’s century-old paper is that its head was cut off. Kuta was not replaced as Press-Telegram publisher. Authority over Long Beach’s only daily was assigned to the publisher of the Daily Breeze—a much-smaller newspaper in the much-smaller city of Torrance.

Why? Great question. Good luck getting an answer.

Executive editor Rich Archbold, the last man standing at the P-T, wasn’t even quoted about the change in the paper’s own story. New publisher Mark Ficarra—the former general manager of a Pennysaver in Phoenix, who’s only been publisher at the Breeze since mid-January—was barely more effusive; he had somebody slap out a statement about how much he looks “forward to working with all of the employees and management at the Press-Telegram to best serve our readers and advertisers in these great communities.”

Meanwhile, here’s a theory: The Press-Telegram was folded into the Daily Breeze—instead of vice-versa—because P-T workers still have a union, whereas Breeze employees don’t. The dozen P-T workers who have been invited to apply for positions in Torrance will surrender their union protections. With the combined staffs, union members will be in the minority and the company won’t recognize their right to collective bargaining.

It’s not as though the P-T’s union has ever been a match for MediaNews CEO Dean Singleton. He decimated it in 1997 by calling his purchase of the Press-Telegram an “asset sale,” which allowed him to fire the entire staff, force everybody to re-apply for their jobs and pay the re-hires an average of 21 percent less with bare-bones benefits. But the little labor organization reassembled itself and has striven to be a voice for local control of Long Beach’s newspaper. On Friday, it lost that battle, too.

Archbold, however, looked unfazed on Monday during an earlier session of Leadership Long Beach’s daylong meeting in a huge circular conference hall at California State University headquarters. Strolling around the center of the wrap-around auditorium with a microphone, he bullshitted the group of Long Beach’s best-and-brightest the way he’s been bullshitting everybody since he arrived at the Press-Telegram some 30 years ago.

Archbold downplayed the loss of Long Beach’s historic newspaper, describing it as a “restructuring.” He talked up the Press-Telegram’s decimated, underpaid, overworked and demoralized staff, expressing admiration for his “staff of great reporters”—but failing to mention that there are only 10 of them left to cover 19 cities. He claimed the Press-Telegram is the No. 1 source of news in Long Beach. He bragged about the paper’s “great business page,” but didn’t reveal that it’s been reduced to one day a week and that its only reporter, Don Jergler, just resigned. He touted the people page, saying “the story we just did on the kid with leukemia, the one who got the bone-marrow transplant—that was just so heart-warming.” And he championed the coverage of local government. “You’re not going to know what happens at the City Council meeting Tuesday night,” Archbold said, “unless you read the Press-Telegram.”

We’ll see about that.

Press-Telegram workers and supporters throughout the community were planning to convene at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting for a big show of opposition to the “restructuring” that Archbold minimized—and for a big show of support for an item agendized by Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga that would “reexamine” the city’s financial relationship with the Press-Telegram.

City documents show that the P-T receives over a quarter of a million dollars a year in taxpayer money for various printing and advertising services. Some council members wonder whether the city should spend that kind of money with a paper that isn’t locally controlled anymore. P-T profits aren’t reinvested in the paper, anyway. Public documents reveal that MediaNews made a $16.7 million profit in 2006 when it sold the historic Press-Telegram building at Sixth and Pine for $20 million—but not even one position was restored to the tiny news staff.

Was any of that story in Wednesday’s Press-Telegram? Go take a look.

There’s a better chance you’ll find another oblivious column by Tom Hennessy—acclaimed as “Mr. Press-Telegram” and “Mr. Long Beach” when he took a semi-retirement in December—who totally ignored the demise of the newspaper and the damage to the city in his March 2 piece, published just two days after the P-T was shifted to Torrance and his colleagues lost their jobs.

Oh, the column started promisingly enough. Hennessy began: “This is about a magic place that may be on the brink of losing its magic; a place whose memory may become as remote as the sands of Carthage.” But his next sentence revealed his priorities: “This is about Wrigley Field, home of the hapless Chicago Cubs.”

That’s right, two mornings after Long Beach lost the Press-Telegram, the city’s most-prominent journalistic voice wrote a column bemoaning the fact that Wrigley Field—a baseball diamond in Chicago—may be selling its name to a corporate sponsor. Amazingly, it got worse. Here’s Hennessy’s next paragraph: “What does any of that have to do with Long Beach? Well, as strange as it may seem, there are Cub fans right here in town. [ . . . ] One is the P-T’s executive editor, Rich Archbold.”

Now that’s leadership, Long Beach.

Tags: Daily Breeze, Long Beach, newspapers, press telegram, Rich Archbold, tom hennessy, unions

COMMENTS

1

There’s so much coverage now about the most recent cuts at the Press-Telegram. Where was all this attention last year when they let go of their entire ad production staff, photo imaging department, page layout and page control departments. That totalled about 20+ people too. Did their jobs and contributions to the daily operations of the former paper mean less than those in the newsroom? There were many talented, dedicated people who contributed to getting the paper out everyday who were let go LAST YEAR but only now do people take notice of the state of the paper. I guess even now they will remain unrecognized and unsung.

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Posted By just asking on March 5th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
2

Just asking,
Were they union? or did all of the 20 plus imaging department get together and call someone?

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Posted By LB Taxpayer on March 5th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
3

What a perfect forum for the PT’s arch-survivor to spin his misconceptions. Both Rich and Leadership Long Beach, the recipient of lavish coverage in the paper, have been locked in the same echo chamber and mutual admiration society for years. Sorry a reader took offense to my previous shower-room attendant reference. I should have been more precise. The concentration camp I mentioned has nothing to do with the Nazi Holocaust. I was referencing the contemporary model at Guantanamo, Cuba.

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Posted By Beachcombover on March 6th, 2008 at 7:42 am
4

The best part about the PT is the sports page. Let’s hope they don’t screw that up. Why not go to an interactive blog format for the sports page to beef up the PT’s web presence? If they were to effectively monetize it, they could make some good money with it.

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Posted By drnoe on March 6th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
5

Sorry, they just ripped up the sports staff yesterday, getting rid of a bunch of familiar names. Sorry ’bout that.

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Posted By Dave Wielenga on March 6th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
6

Dave - who got canned?

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Posted By drnoe on March 7th, 2008 at 9:32 am
7

You’re stretching it referring to the P-T as a “newspaper”.

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Posted By Sailor on March 7th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
8

Just FYI: has anyone seen this marvelous editorial the PT just published?
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_8481730
Of course they left out a few pesky details, like the sports reporters and photographer that were laid off, the loss of the managing editor and publisher and the shift (to the Breeze) of the authority to make important decisions.
But as far as their assurances “we’re still here” … Well, I feel so much better now don’t you?

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Posted By now-former journo on March 7th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
9

drnoe

Dave Werstine, Mark Carpenter, Ben Villa and Earl Williams

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Posted By w3 on March 7th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
10

currently working at the PT….
I feel for the people that are losing their jobs and being reassigned to other locations here at the P.T and at all of our sister publications, both here and in northern california.

It is unfortunate that the streamlining or combining of efforts or downsizing - whatever YOU may want to call it has been happening now for over 10 years, but yet only now receiving press as it involves the union?!?

Credit, finance, circulation, marketing dept, human resources, imaging, artists, production staff, page layout, makeup depts, pagination, mailrooms, even some advertising divisions & advertising mgrs, internet depts… have all been condensed into shared depts. with our other papers…and again…
THIS HAS BEEN OCCURING FOR OVER 10 YEARS!
and we still have over 88,000 people PAYING for the paper EVERY DAY!

Please know that I am proud to work at the Press-Telegram and proud of the service I provide…yes, its makes the mind weary some days - but why do you think they call it work? I too, reported to work one day, years ago to find that my position had been eliminated and was reassigned. Ended up in a better position!

You have a nice little magazine - you folks at the DISTRICT - but come on - GET OFF IT ALREADY!

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Posted By pt-lbc on March 7th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
11

Currently working at the P-T, pt-lbc?
Perhaps you’re one of the two old guys who struggle to finish 2 whole editorial pages in a single day, one of which is completely wire stories?
Or are you one of the dozens of advertising drones who got replaced whenever someone quit as opposed to the newsroom staff which had 2 hires over the past 2 years?
Are you a features reporter who isn’t required to do a story a day while all of the real work for the section is done out at one of the sister papers?
Obviously you’re not one of the hard working people who put the paper together for many a stressful night, I am sure you weren’t one of the 5 desk people who were there on a Sunday to put together the entire edition….
Are you one of Doug’s little hanger-ons? Buy him a drink to get your name in the column and maybe even a not-so-witty nickname….
No true P-T employee would have such a blatant disregard for the hardships facing their former co-workers and friends….
You’re probably Rich, the spineless worm who cow-tows to the columnists to get his name mentioned in their never timely columns….

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Posted By Metro-link on March 7th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
12

Just to be an ass, the response posted by pt-lbc, “I feel for the people that are losing their jobs” should grammatically be, “I feel for the people WHO are losing their jobs.” You can rule this one out as an editor, eh?… Or maybe he or she considers those people to be inanimate objects like paper clips or pot holes? Just a thought.

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Posted By Jenny Stockdale on March 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
13

metro-link or is that metro-FINK?
none of the above- CAN YOU READ?
not an old guy, not a drone, not a features reporter, no hanger on, no buying drinks..have no nickname to publish, not Rich,.

Yes to hard working and yes to stressful evenings.

How dare you reply that my post shows blatant disregard towards my fellow employees! IF YOU COULD process what you read perhaps you would be better informed! TRUE THAT!

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Posted By pt-lbc on March 7th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
14

oh and Jenny - thank you for correcting my grammar, you are absolutely correct..(in one way), I am not an editor… but about my thoughts and concerns? you could not be more wrong..
so sad that you would say something like that - that was really being an ASS

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Posted By pt-lbc on March 7th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
15

I’d know that tone anywhere. Did you just switch jobs?

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Posted By w3 on March 7th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
16

Forgive me, that was the only way I ever learned how not to confuse “that” and “who.” I wish you the best, as I do for your publication and all those who recently lost their jobs. I don’t think I need to (but will) point out that petty online comments rarely solve real problems (I suppose that goes in all directions to this post, mine included). All this friction hasn’t materialized for no reason though, and ‘getting off of it already’ wouldn’t really solve anything either, would it? I’m a fresh college graduate with degrees in journalism and English and I can’t get a job here in my field. I sat through a conference last spring at Cal State Long Beach listening to one journalist after the next talk about the grim future of journalism, layoffs, cutbacks, etc… It’s a very real, very scary problem. Healthy discussion, though, that’s what we’re here for. Right? Good luck.

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Posted By Jenny Stockdale on March 7th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
17

It shows a blatant disregard for those of us no longer at the PT, I stand by my condemnations of the half-wits, slackers, and general numb nuts that still reside in the Arco tower…
Other than those on reporters row, the prepguys and two editors over there, the rest of the staff remains overpaid underworking hanger ons….
I don’t need to process what you wrote, I lived it….

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Posted By Metro-link on March 7th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
18

Hey pt-lbc,
Your and ad guy or the promotions guy who sells posters at the Grand Prix for a $1 and ear plugs for the same price, ” promoting ” the PT, very inovative Idea and a great deal considering when you buy them in bulk it cost you 10 cents. Why not give them the posters for free? of and the ear plugs. Wow you are really thinking outside the box . Oh and congrats on the better position, tust me you stick around long enough ( 3-6 months ) and you literally might be publisher.
Trust me the union workers know what work is and though your management you should be fighting for better content to attract more readers so you can up-grade from the Dodge Stratus to the KIA SUV. And If your having issues in you department talk to a union rep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY

Coffee is for closers!!!

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Posted By ABC on March 7th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
19

SPJ’s Northern California Chapter Calls MediaNews Out on Staff Cuts

By E&P Staff

Published: March 05, 2008 1:50 PM ET
NEW YORK The Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California Chapter today expressed concerns about the latest round of staff cuts by MediaNews Group at the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, and the 26 other regional newspapers controlled by the company — and called for more accountability on the company’s part for the effect the cuts will have on newsgathering.

“Reports from chapter members signal to us that we can no longer stand on the sidelines when it comes to scrutinizing the effects of these cutbacks on the breadth and quality of news coverage,” board President Linda Jue said in a statement. “We aren’t simply talking about saving jobs. We’re talking about how business decisions are narrowing the choices reporters and editors make about which stories to pursue. This is of special concern during an election year, when keeping the public informed about fast-changing economic, political and social issues is essential to the democratic process.”

These staff reductions, which will be made in the next few days, come on the heels of two additional staff cuts in 2007.

While the board is mindful of the economic challenges facing newspapers, it is calling on MediaNews to reconsider its business strategy and recall its stated commitment to quality journalism. The board pointed out that these new cuts are being made just after MediaNews reported a 33.9% increase in quarterly net income.

In a release, SPJ stated that it is “dedicated to the perpetuation of high journalistic standards that keep citizens well informed on matters affecting their lives and their communities. Therefore, the chapter has a professional obligation to monitor the impact of this series of cutbacks on the free flow of reliable information to residents living in communities served by MediaNews.

“The NorCal chapter will work with its membership to collect data documenting the effects of the cutbacks on San Francisco Bay Area news coverage,” the organization added. “Chapter representatives will seek direct discussions with senior management of MediaNews as well as journalists, union representatives, media analysts, academics, community leaders, and other interested parties. The board plans to share its findings with the public and with concerned governmental officials.”

E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)

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Posted By SOUTHERN CAL IS NEXT on March 8th, 2008 at 8:57 am
20

Combover you are a piece of work. Yeah, sure Guantanimo is a “concentration camp”, yep the U.S. is using the place to exterminate a race, using the prisoners for slave labor to support our war machine bent on establishing a world nation of Americans. We get the point that you do not like Archbold, your comparisons however are infantile and shallow.

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Posted By LBRez on March 8th, 2008 at 9:22 am
21

again you guys are misinformed:

While I agree the management is full of shit, so are you guys. Your distain for the PT leaves your stories full of assumptions and rumors that it is as bad as you claim the PT is.

1.With the combined staffs, union members will be in the minority and the company won’t recognize their right to collective bargaining.

Had they combined the staff they could have got rid of the union, the management said specifically this was not a joining of staff and while you could argue that is just playing semantics the fact remains that all the reporters and photographers are still represented by the union (weather they like it or not). Union members are not in the minority, 100 % of 15 is 100% (10 writers, 5 shooters in the union)

2. its only reporter, Don Jergler, just resigned.

Kris Hansen is a business reporter, he is still there, and Karen Robes was just promoted to Don Jerglers job - thats 2 business reporters - while I agree it is meger - you guys still need to get your facts straight.

Here is some advice for you guys at the District Weakly, there is no need to embellish the stories at the PT - the truth is interesting enough. Try not letting your personal hatred for the PT get in the way of your reporting.. Well, i guess if you could do that you’ld be working at a real paper not some free-be you made out of thin air.

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Posted By w2 on March 8th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
22

Please read the press-telegram
http://www.presstelegram.com

thanks

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Posted By Rich Archbold on March 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
23

w3 is Bill Hillburg!

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Posted By w2 on March 8th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
24

or berg, or birg.. whatever

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Posted By w4 on March 8th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
25

Speaking of assumptions and rumors…aren’t you the guy who tried to start a rumor the District was paying writers to bring in advertising?

Oops.

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Posted By w3 on March 8th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
26

I agree with Rich: please read the Press-Telegram

http://www.presstelegram.com

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Posted By Dave Wielenga on March 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
27

There seems to have been some confusion about the actual numbers of reporting staff; the number of business reporters isn’t changing. Ms. Robes change of beat is more of a lateral move.
There were two reporters who gave notice and their positions are being filled by two persons that would have been laid off had these reporter positions not become available. (One of them was another sports reporter).
That leaves the count at 12 reporters in the newsroom to cover all of Long Beach and the surrounding cities.
The layoffs also included a photographer, web person and two sports reporters, despite the PT’s assurances that no reporters would be laid off and that they’re investing in the web. (I guess “sports reporters” don’t count)

I also believe the comment about the union representation is also based on confused information.
In Northern California Media News did combine the staffs of several papers (non-union and union) and after all of these people were working in the same office the company then asserted that the union no longer represented a majority and refused to recognize them.
There have been major concerns about that occurring down here as well.
However, that strategy won’t be necessary here because they are simply moving employees to the local nonunion daily paper and reducing the represented staff at the PT. So even though the remaining persons ARE still in a union, the company also accomplishes the goal of reducing the number of persons being represented.
If that’s unrelated, why else would the PT folks be moved to the Breeze rather than visa versa? The Breeze will be relocating soon anyway (as their building has been sold), so now there are more computers, desks and people to accommodate, how does that save money?
And though the numbers seem low as far as actual cuts, consider that 20 or so people being moved (or cut) from the PT newsroom this actually removes about half the people there.
Besides, what’s to stop lean Dean from paring down some of those that were moved or the staff that was spared? There are no guarantees. The POINT is local coverage means nothing to him, but it should mean something to all of us. Newspapers aren’t just businesses they’re a service to the public, they’re our eyes and ears.
We’re at a pivotal point in our democracy and we need more voices, not less.

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Posted By now-former journo on March 8th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
28

not a rumor, the truth.

District reporters keep 24 percent of all ad revenu they bring in

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Posted By w2 on March 8th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
29

I enjoyed reading the press telegram but man there is nothing worse than sleezy bottom line business tactics to force people to work for less while the people at the top sit on their sun deck scratching their balls, smelling their finger and enjoying a cup of International Delight. I bet Archbold has granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, sub zero brand you know with the barn doors. Oh i bet he also has a swimming pool with a rock landscape and a waterfall with tiki torches. When you cut your organic vegetables can you see the reflection of your open maw in your dark gray granite counter tops? I am assuming this because he seems like a tasteless mouth breathing brawndo drinking St God hospital visiting Not Sure kind of guy!!!

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Posted By hooch on March 9th, 2008 at 11:19 am
30

Also Archbold your website looks like its hosted on geocities. In fact i saw the following address in my browser.

http://www.geocities.com/business46/papertime/l...

And Torrance? Man there isn’t enough time in the day for that one!

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Posted By hooch on March 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am
31

W2, you are adorable! But incorrect on the ad revenue thing. And kind of a chickenshit on the integrity thing … I mean, W2? You don’t have enough courage to post your name, and you can’t think of a better alias than that? But you remain adorable, nonetheless. Please keep posting, no matter how incorrectly or chickenshittily — it is, too, a word! All traffic to our website helps The District grow bigger. Oooh, W2 — you heard right: you make me grow bigger. Now, go make me a sandwich.

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Posted By Dave Wielenga on March 9th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
32

Who is the jackass “editor” that responded to the 2 “Letters to the Editor” today? What a jerk! Does he really think anyone will believe what he says?
The fact is that the paper is a complete farce….a pimp for the Chamber of Commerce…rabidly anti-worker (especially the Teachers of all people)…..and a shell of it’s former self. There is almost no content. How sad to see Hennessy and Krikorian existing as “tribute” writers.
Sad to say that after 45 years of reading the IPT daily I’m done. I don’t even care if I find one on a table at work. It’s just not worth reading, and I won’t even bother looking at their website.
And who said something about Molina buying the paper? Mauricio Heilbron MD wrote an article (his very last one by the way) that the Molina’s obviously wouldn’t like and that was the last I’ve seen of him.
I hope we have a real paper again-in my lifetime.

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Posted By John on March 9th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
33

Hey, W2 (Comment 28): Time to put up or shut up. What’s your evidence?

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Posted By gorilla warfare on March 9th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
34

I have an idea about the identity of W2: I spoke with someone who, I had reason to believe, might not be entirely friendly to the District cause. So, in addition to lots of truth, I gave him one specific piece of misinformation: that our sales reps (not, as W2 has it, our writers, for chrissake), make 24%. If he was trustworthy, I figured I’d tell him the truth later; if he wasn’t–if he trotted off to tell others the content of a conversation he asked remain confidential for his own job security–I’d hear the magic number again. And now I have.

Paying sales reps 24% would be ludicrous enough; now that the rumor has spread from that single point of contact to W2 (unless W2 is that same guy) it’s become even less believable: the number’s still there but it’s now attached to writers.

So here’s the truth: our writers make no commission on ad sales because they don’t sell ads; that’s why we call them “writers.” Our sales reps don’t write (though Patrick Dooley, who just moved over to sales? Fucker can write; edited the Union at CSULB, and has a wicked sense of humor), and they make around 12% on every advertising sale; with bonuses and such, it can be a little more than 12%, but never 24%. That’d be stupid–almost as stupid as the person who asserts it as truth without any evidence.

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Posted By Will Swaim on March 9th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
35

You win - I’ll never be back

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Posted By w2 on March 11th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
36

“”I gave him one specific piece of misinformation”"

your a sly one Will, but come on, you’ld never buy that excuse if it came from Archibold, why should we buy it from you?

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Posted By new District reader, old PT lover on March 11th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
37

I guess new District reader (who writes with the same idiosyncratic sloppiness as w2) could always buy the alternative story: that we pay writers to sell ads. But that’d be stupid.

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Posted By Will Swaim on March 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
38

I had no idea people were having so much fun in here. Shame on you, Will, for killing the action!

I love the guessing game to discover the TRUE identity of pt-lbc.

Let me see, let me see…

“not an old guy, not a drone, not a features reporter, no hanger on, no buying drinks..have no nickname to publish, not Rich,.” But you do provide a service, and you work hard?

Hmm… Furniture mover? No, no, Leisure World chaperone? Quaid???!!!

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Posted By Fucker on March 12th, 2008 at 9:47 pm

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