Chicago Tribune

Mondo Times editors    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 1:12pm on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

The Chicago Tribune is discontinuing weekly publication of Chicago Tribune magazine, the newspaper announced on June 19, 2009:

"The Chicago Tribune said Friday it is discontinuing its weekly Sunday magazine, replacing it as of July 5th with Sunday, a new section that will combine some of the magazine's features and puzzles with content that had been in the paper's Smart and House & Homes sections.

Chicago Tribune Magazine, which traces its roots to 1914's Chicago Tribune Pictorial Weekly and took on its current form on Oct. 4th, 1953, will continue as a series of themed sections published roughly once a month beginning in September. The final weekly edition will come out June 28th.

Gerould Kern, the Chicago Tribune's editor, said in a memo to staff that the change involving the magazine was made "because declining advertising and high costs made weekly publication unsustainable."

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 6:40pm on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

The Chicago Tribune marketing department asked for subscribers' opinions about news stories before they were published, Phil Rosenthal of the Tribune reported on May 1, 2009:

"A short-lived research project in which the Chicago Tribune solicited responses from current and former subscribers to descriptions of Tribune stories before they had been published has been halted after reporters raised journalistic concerns.

Gerould Kern, the Tribune's editor, gathered newsroom staff Thursday to tell them the brief experiment was over and to field their questions a day after a letter signed by dozens of editorial employees alerted him to the unorthodox sharing of unpublished materials.

"We've stopped this," Kern said later. "To prematurely disseminate information about stories in progress compromises reporting. ... There are a lot of reasons, such as potential legal [issues], fairness, accuracy and completeness.

"Reporters raised this question, as they should. Editors responded. We had a conversation about it. We made it clear what our values are. It was an affirmation of what we all believe in this afternoon, even though there was a breakdown and it was unfortunate, and we wish it hadn't happened."

The full story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri_tribunemay01,0,854412.story

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 2:12pm on Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

The Chicago Tribune has fired 53 newsroom staffers, the newspaper reported on April 22, 2009:

"The Chicago Tribune today reduced its newsroom staff, a response to the economic downturn and changes in the media business model.

The exit of 53 editorial employees is part of a paper-wide cost-cutting effort. Tribune Editor Gerould Kern said in a letter to staff that cuts are part of a newsroom reorganization that “will focus us more clearly on our core mission” going forward with a newsgathering team of around 430.

“With today’s actions, we are making the leap to a newsroom structure that we believe is sustainable barring further significant declines in advertising revenue,” Kern wrote. “While some are leaving now, others will join the newsroom over time as we invest in new skills necessary to grow in the future.”

The Chicago Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business last week reported that the Tribune cuts would be far more severe."

Mondo Times editors    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 3:27pm on Sunday, April 19th, 2009

The Chicago Tribune is cutting 20% of its newsroom staff, Crain's Chicago Business reported on April 13, 2009:

"The Chicago Tribune plans to cut another 20% of its newsroom staff in yet another bid to reduce expenses amid continuing advertising declines.

Staffers were told of the impending layoffs last week, according to three people who attended a meeting on the topic. The cuts will take place over the next several weeks, the sources said.

The expected cuts are the latest attempt to reduce expenses at the paper, whose parent Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in December."

Read the full story:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=33660&seenIt=1