ProJo Sale: Media Experts Weigh in on Journal's Future
Kate Nagle, GoLocal Contributor
ProJo Sale: Media Experts Weigh in on Journal's Future
"They've been savaging newsrooms across the country," said Michael Scully, Assistant Professor of Communications at Roger Williams University. "Gatehouse Media has been buying flags all over the [U.S.]. The model seems to repeat itself: They buy, they survey, they layoff."
"Now, I'm not sure if the [GateHouse] business model is working, but I do believe they are destroying local media," continued Scully. "Every time you fire a daily newspaper reporter, editors must fill open space with wire copy, which means the paper loses its "local appeal."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAlan Mutter, adjunct faculty member of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and former City Editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, said he believes that while there will be drawbacks, there could an upside to the move.
"In joining GateHouse, ProJo would be part of a large regional cluster of newspapers, which will enable operating efficiencies for the publisher in the areas of news gathering, ad sales, marketing, production and administration. This could mean staff reductions where positions are redundant, which would be unfortunate for the affected employees," said Mutter. "On the other hand, readers and advertisers may benefit from ProJo’s affiliation with an organization with additional regional resources and reach."
Business Decisions
Jon Chesto, Managing Editor at Boston Business Journal who has covered GateHouse extensively, said he wasn't surprised that GateHouse had strong interest in buying the Journal.
"It makes sense that New Media Investment Group/GateHouse would be interested in The Providence Journal. While it’s a bigger paper than the publications that the company has typically acquired in the past, it does fit in nicely with their New England footprint, which is primarily focused on Eastern Massachusetts," said Chesto.
Dan Kennedy, Associate Professor in the School of Journalism at Northeastern University, said that we would have preferred to see the Journal sale go to local -- not national - bidders.
"It's almost a certainty that there will be significant cuts at the Journal when and if GateHouse buys it. I thought the [GoLocal] story about having a ratio of one FTE in the newsroom for every $1 million in revenue was very interesting, but I have no knowledge of whether GateHouse will follow that formula or not. Still, acquisitions are invariably followed by cuts, as was the case when a GateHouse affiliate purchased the Cape Cod Times and The Standard-Times last fall," said Kennedy. "I'm disappointed that Belo did not sell the Journal to a local group, just as I was disappointed that the Telegram & Gazette was sold to a chain."
Looking Forward
With the sale of the ProJo to GateHouse, Chesto suggested what to watch as far as its new parent company is concerned.
"New Media/GateHouse recently said it has identified $150M to $300M worth of acquisitions in its pipeline. Realistically, we’ll see more deals this year, but the amount of credit and cash they have points to the lower end of that range," said Chesto. "Depending on The Providence Journal’s price, that could leave room for $50M to $100M of additional deals this year. I would be surprised if executives at New Media/GateHouse haven’t considered the Sun Chronicle in Attleboro as an acquisition target as well."
Kennedy. meanwhile added his prognostications about other papers that could be in transition in the near future.
"I think the next big shoe to drop will be the Digital First Media papers, which include the Lowell Sun, the Fitchburg Enterprise & Sentinel, the Berkshire Eagle and, a little farther away but much bigger, the New Haven Register," said Kennedy. "It's pretty widely anticipated that Alden Capital, the main investor in DFM, is looking to get out, and it seems clear that GateHouse and Halifax will be major players."
As for the local implications of a ProJo sale, RWU's Scully was less than optimistic.
"We've been watching the Providence Journal die a long painful death. This new owner is going to do very little to improve the ProJo's media profile," said Scully.
Rhode Island's Changing Media Landscape
Bob Kerr
The long time Providence Journal columnist Bob Kerr was sent packing by the new ownership group.
The unceremonious dismissal ended the tenure of the Projo's only true news columnist.
Kerr was talented and often controversial.
Howard Sutton
The long-time publisher was Belo's man in Providence. Howard Sutton was the man that implemented the changes that Dallas wanted to try and make the company more efficient and more profitable.
The results were dismal. Maybe no newspaper in the country lost a higher precentage of ad revenue than the Projo over the past decade.
He was the face of the paper in the community.
Andrew Gobiel
Rick Daniels
Rick Daniels has joined GoLocal24 as Chief Operating Officer.
Daniels is the former President of the Boston Globe. He also served as CEO of Gatehouse Media for New England and led a consortium of investors who attempted to purchase the Boston Globe from the New York Times Company in 2013.
Daniels then went on to play a key role at Empirical Media Advisors based in New York, focused mainly on Tribune Publishing, where Emprical’s co-founder and CEO, Jack Griffin, recently took the role of CEO.
Fred Campagna
Fred Campagna has joined FOX25 in Boston.
Before Campagna began working at FOX25, he served as the Chief On-Air Meteorologist at ABC6 for fourteen years.
After leaving ABC6 in July 2012, Campagna launched his own digital weather platform, Right Weather.
Karen Meyers
WLNE-TV has fired anchor Karen Meyers. She had been with the station since 2011.
Meyers had anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news with John DeLuca. Sources say station management opted not to renew her contract and decided to go in another direction.
Before Meyers joined ABC6, she was a reporter/anchor with New England Cable News and was a reporter in Washington, DC.
Felice Freyer
According to RIPR reporter Ian Donnis, Providence Journal's Health Reporter is leaving. Felice Freyer has been the sole reporter covering Rhode Island's largest businss sector.
Freyer leaves for the Boston Globe.
Her departure follows Phil Marcelo who recently left the Projo for AP in Boston.
Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly had RIPR reporter Scott MacKay as breaking the story.
Flo Jonic
Veteran radio reporter Flo Jonic recently was fired by RINPR after she filed complaints against the station for gender-based pay discrimination.
Jonic is a 30 year veteran of New England news radio.
In her charge filed in February, Jonic wrote, "I believe that I have been discriminated against based on my sex by my employer," and referred to the difference in her pay and that of RIPR reporter Ian Donnis.
"Currently, [reporter] Ian Donnis earns at least $75,000 a year, while I make $51,000 per year. We perform the same duties, and I have 32 more years experience than he does," wrote Jonic in her complaint.
Phil Marcelo
After a seven year stint reporting for the Providence Journal's state house bureau, Phil Marcelo left the paper to take a reporting gig with the Boston office of the Associated Press.
Hailing from Long Island, New York, Marcelo came to ProJo in 2006, and covered everything from regional news, to Providence City Hall and the Statehouse. Marcelo's departure was first reported by WRNI's Ian Donnis.
Julie Tremmel
Formerly a nightly news reporter for WJAR, Tremmel was fired from the "Team You Trust" after two clips, one of her performing on-air handstands, and the other offering tips on what to do during a bear attack, went viral.
The video became an internet sensation, but long-time Channel 10 newsman Jim Taricani called Tremmel’s antics “a smudge on our station's reputation.”
Jim Taricani
A long-time staple of Channel 10’s news team, Taricani announced plans to retire after over three decades with the station.
Taricani has won 5 regional Emmy awards, an Edward R. Murrow award for investigative journalism and a Prestigious Yankee Quill Award from the New England Newspaper Association.
He was convicted to six months in prison in 2004 for refusing to reveal a source, and is the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame.
John DePetro
WPRO talk show host has come under fire for comments he made on air regarding women. Leading union organizations have called for DePetro to be fired.
Most recently, he has been on announced suspension.
DePetro apologized for his comments.
Helen Glover
Mike Stanton
Dean Starkman
Karen Bordeleau
Bob Whitcomb
Tom Heslin
Tara Granahan
Connie Grosch
Gene Valicenti
Jennifer Jordan
Ron St. Pierre
