Although a rumor that Newspaper Guild president Liz Brown sent an email to guild members warning that the Seattle Times is about to declare bankruptcy appears to be untrue, the rumors that a bankruptcy is imminent continue to swirl. A woman who answered the phone at Brown’s office said she hadn’t sent an email to that effect but acknowledged that “everyone is worried, obviously”; meanwhile, Times spokeswoman Jill Mackie responded to an email I sent to executive editor David Boardman with an odd nondenial denial:
Erica, Dave forwarded your question to me. I do not know on what basis Liz raised this as a possibility. That said, the actions we take or planning we engage in are aimed at preserving The Seattle Times and as many jobs as possible into the future. Hearst’s recent surprise announcement is a reflection of the economic reality that in today’s economy it is a struggle for even a single newspaper to be profitable and impossible for multiple papers in a single market. A timely end to the JOA gives The Seattle Times the best opportunity to be viable long term, but short term weathering this recession will still be a significant challenge. We will explore all options that will allow us to get through this very tough time and preserve jobs and content.
Jill
On some recent Mondays and Tuesdays, the Seattle Times has had as little as three pages of ads, total—including classifieds. Even at $27,000 a half-page, that’s hardly enough to keep a newspaper the size of the Times afloat.
“This rumor has been found to have no basis in fact repeatedly, so I’ll just keep posting it. Who knows, eventually it might turn out to come true?”
@1, it’s okay to post rumors, because it’s Slog, and it’s just a blog. Brendan Kiley said so.
Financially or Morally?
Do you even know what Liz wrote in her email? Did you even bother trying to find out? I guess if slog writers speculate and flame rumors long enough they’re bound to get one of them right.
Good…I have a list of Times people that I’d happily see unemployed and begging for food in Pioneer Square.
Also, no more gawdamned phone calls from the subscription department at all hours of the day.
“Within the Guild we have been preparing for a number of worst-case scenarios, including the possibility that the Times might enter the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.”
@6: Your point?
@4 asked what Liz wrote. That’s what she wrote.
The Stranger: Seattle’s only newspaper!
That’ll mean raises for everybody, right?
Yeah, sure, Eric.
My guess is they’ll use this as an excuse to bust the union, while the WSJ and NYT continues to eat away at their reader base.