The more suspicious minds might wonder if the invitees made the list by virtue of the size of their severance. "Versatility" might be a code-word for "we could either pay you a lot of money, or else get you to sign it away and then make you miserable enough to quit later."

It might be interesting to get Liz Brown's take on whether the P-I can condition these job offers on not being in a union. I'm not up on private sector labor law, but the commonality of ownership between the current P-I and the new venture might (should?) mean that they can't just write the existing union out of the picture.

Man, this sucks... It's like Hospice watch for the P-I...

GREET TO JOIN.

Let me entertain you
Let me make you smile
Let me do a few tricks
Some old and then some new tricks
I'm very versatile

Well reported, Eli. Good job.

Go Hector!

Enumclaw Eli, are you a member of the Guild, or are you a scab? What are your benefits?

I can see why people wouldn't take these offers (especially when severance pay looks a whole lot like startup money), but it's flat-out insane to use the excuse that online journalism doesn't allow long-form or contemplative journalism. Sure, like almost all reporting, speed is often of the essence. However, that doesn't mean that all stories have to be written quickly just because they're online.

Eli... You've spent the past six weeks asking reporters what the potential end date of the P-I would be. Did it ever occur to ask folks on the business operations side? Perhaps the circulation, advertising and marketing folks might have a little more insight. You're in the wrong building.

Yes, this is Hearst at its worst. Eli, you've been giving them a free pass for a long time now. Given their history in San Francisco, San Antonio and now Seattle, how about a story on just how the Hearst empire has treated its workers over the years?

Part of me can understand why Hector didn't take the offer, another part of me is cringing. While it really, really sucks what's happening with Hearst's dealing of this situation, there's an incredible opportunity right now for those PI staffers getting offers to be on the ground floor of revolutionizing the business model for journalism. Yes, I have my doubts about corporate media and very much dislike journalism being a for-profit venture. However, Michelle Nicolosi is one of my mentors. She's an amazing journalist and incredible coach with a foresight that many lack in this industry. If there was anyone I would trust in balancing great journalism with new technology, it's her.

When does the P-I notify the subscribers when they stop printing and what options we have? On the front page of the final issue?

sassy2979, that's so great and sassy! Who wouldn't want to get in on the revolutionary ground floor of a major corporation getting rid of anyone with experience or institutional memory, apparently unwilling to pay wages that could support anyone but a recent college grad? Sure sounds like they'll be able to keep righting wrongs, digging deep into government affairs, fulfilling the public trust, and afflicting the comfortable and all. Sure. Journalism is alive, now they'll just call it "My Twitters On The Latest Episode Of The Bachelor."

niccolosi and revolutionary journalism? is that why the p-i has so many photo galleries of soft porn events like beauty pagents and fashion shows? yep, that's some hard hitting revolutionary journalism right there. right up there with the *amazing* journalism produced by such journalistic heavyweights as guzman, mcnerthney and all the other neophytes that hearst made offers to. what a sad day for seattle journalism.

He spends two hours writing a lead? No wonder the PI has lost so much money. Good luck in the unemployment line, Hector. The days of writing two or three stories a week are gone forever, unless you're doing Watergate material.

Michelle Nicolosi a web guru? LOL!

“The overarching idea was they needed to make money, that the days of losing money couldn’t continue," Castro said. "And, with that in mind, that I couldn’t expect to make the salary that I was making.”

Journalists are so self-absorbed and think this is only happening to them and that the big bad Capitalists running the companies have caused all the problems. Since when is making a profit bad? This is America folks. That's how it works. If you think there's some altruistic driving force behind the Fourth Estate, think again. The work we do fills the space between the ads.

Being offered continued employment for a reduced salary beats the alternative. Just ask the, oh, 10 million who have lost jobs in the last few months.
One of my brothers (unemployed again) accepted a job offer for less than he'd been making a couple years ago. His wife asked him why he would accept a pay cut? His response: I'm not. I'm unemployed. I'm making nothing. This is a raise.

I'll take a pay cut to keep my job at the newspaper I work for. Beats unemployment.

To LRR: Eli used to work at The Seattle Times, where he was a member in good standing and was out on strike with us in 2000.
The Stranger's editorial staff is not represented by a union (yet), but that's not necessarily a reflection of any individual staffer's position on labor.

You know what I'm so tired of?

"Since when is making a profit bad? This is America folks."

This blase position that automatically assumes profits are the be all end all of everything, or that equates "America" with the right to make a profit.

Although I suppose that question is rhetorical how about this. Making a profit is bad when it is the sole focus of a business and when pursuing that goal the business product and the benefit that may be accrued by the employee and customers is subsumed by this endlessly repeated mantra. What's even better is when this tail eating endeavor occurs by way of a self-dealing, overly-leveraged business model that can't see past the end of the next three quarters.

"This is America folks...when is profit bad."

or how about,

"God is good, god is great..."

Kind of like a prayer really.