Keeping ‘virtually all of the employees’ a ruse; deep cuts underway at daily papers

POTTSVILLE – When Denver, Colorado-based MediaNews Group purchased the Times-Shamrock newspapers about a month ago, they said they were offering employment “to virtually all of the employees.”

Today, a different story is unfolding, one that’s unsurprising to anyone familiar with the hedge fund-owned company’s well-blazed trail.

Departure columns appear in Sunday’s Hazleton Standard~Speaker, Pottsville Republican-Herald, and Scranton Times-Tribune, announcing a few of several dozen staff cuts across the daily newspapers.

In Pottsville, Mike Joyce, a 26-year veteran of the paper and its publisher for the past four, said his goodbyes.

“Due to the recent change of ownership of the Republican Herald, I, along with several other dedicated professionals, will no longer be with this news organization,” Joyce wrote. “I thank all of the readers and businesses who have made the newspaper part of their lives and/or part of their business plan, many of whom who have done so for far more than my 26 years with the paper.”

Along with Joyce, longtime photographer Jacqueline Dormer’s last day was Friday.

Dormer, who covered the Blue Mountain football game Friday night, is being hired by the county as office support in the human resources department, according the the Personnel Action Report for the Sept. 20 county commissioner’s meeting.

Longtime fire and police reporter Frank Andruscavage has also left the paper along with sports writer Charlie Roth.

All of their staff pages had disappeared from the Republican Herald‘s website as of early Sunday morning, along with those of Tina Heintzelman, lifestyles editor, and Kathryn Campomizzi-Clews, copy editor.

In Hazleton, it’s assistant sports editor Steve Stallone who announced his departure in the final edition of his On the Sly column in the Standard-Speaker.

“On Friday night, I covered my final event as a full-time writer here at the paper,” Stallone wrote. “With the recent sale of the Standard-Speaker and other Times-Shamrock newspapers and the need to downsize at the properties, I have chosen this time to step aside as a “daily newspaper man” and let the young ones carry on.”

Also gone at the Speaker are veteran writers Amanda Christman and Sam Galski, as well as longtime staffer and community editor Bob Wolfe.

Chris Kelly, a columnist for the Scranton Times-Tribune, detailed 11 of the departures at that paper.

He started by describing Terrie Morgan-Besecker’s “dogged” work as an investigative journalist, which he said included helping to unravel the “Kids for Cash” scandal.

She and 10 others at the paper were gone as of Friday.

“They represent more than 315 years of combined service to local journalism. Under new ownership in a dwindling industry, they accepted buyouts,” Kelly wrote. “The loss of institutional knowledge, talent, and dedication departing with these consummate professionals is incalculable. They are all family to me, and to subscribers who supported this newspaper throughout their careers.”

The cuts come despite the company saying they would keep “virtually all of the employees” except some crossover employees who also worked in radio, a division Times Shamrock retained.

Dissenting members of the Lynett family lamented the sale of Times-Shamrock to MediaNews Group. The Lynetts formerly owned the Times-Shamrock papers, and three of the four voting shareholders approved the sale.

“Alden does not reflect the business principles we feel are consistent with the stewardship of any newspaper,” the dissenting members of the Lynett family said in a statement, referring to MediaNews Group’s parent company, Alden Global Capital. “Most family newspaper sale announcements bear some variation of stock language regarding the new owner’s ability to ‘assume the families’ stewardship,’ ‘continue to provide strong local reporting,’ and ‘maintain the legacy’ of the selling family. Sadly, we feel that none of that will be true in our case.”

In a Facebook post, Sharon Lynett said Friday that northeastern Pennsylvania was losing more than 30 “talented and dedicated journalists today due to Times-Shamrock’s newspaper sale to Alden Capital hedge fund.”

“These are people who have worked tirelessly to make our community better. They are friends, neighbors, colleagues, and all around good people,” Sharon Lynett wrote in the public post. “I wish I could say that I’m shocked, but you all know how our immediate family feels. It’s sickening as the realization sets in…and we fear this is only the beginning.”

Blazed Trail Of Cuts

MediaNews Group has a well-documented history of deep cuts at local news organizations both in Pennsylvania and nationally and has been described as a “vulture hedge fund.”

Until the Times-Shamrock purchase, the nearest MediaNews Group-owned daily paper was the Reading Eagle, which they purchased in 2019.

A month after that purchase, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported that the company planned to cut more than a third of the Eagle’s employees, according to a WARN notice filed with the state.

“Owned by New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital, MNG has gutted most of the 50 daily U.S. newspapers it owns, including those in the local cluster: The Mercury in Pottstown, Times Herald in Norristown, Daily Local News in West Chester, The Reporter in Lansdale, Delaware County Times, The Trentonian and a series of weeklies on the Main Line and in Montgomery County,” the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. “According to the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia, membership at the four [MNG] unionized papers has fallen from about 300 to below 100 since 2012 and circulation has continued to spiral while the company realized a 30 percent profit margin from the local cluster in 2017. It has also closed the offices at three of those papers, with editorial staff largely working remotely.”

In California, MediaNews Group purchased the San Diego Union-Tribune and a cluster of community papers over the summer.

The Rancho Sante Fe Review reported that, within days of the purchase, company officials said cutbacks would be needed to “offset the slowdown in revenues as economic headwinds continue to impact the media industry” before offering buyouts and threatening layoffs if they weren’t taken.

“Staff was notified that the new owner is offering buyouts through Monday, July 17. If the company does not ‘reach a sufficient number of employees’ taking buyouts, ‘the company will lay off additional employees,’ the staff was informed. It wasn’t immediately known how deep the potential cuts could be.”

Thanks For A Great Ride

In his farewell letter, Joyce thanked his coworkers as well, and asked readers to continue supporting the paper and local businesses.

“They are the lifeblood of our community,” Joyce said, also asking for support for the Schuylkill United Way, where he serves as the 2023 campaign chair. He also asked readers to support local educators.

Stallone, in his column, shared memories both of how he entered the news industry and of the sports he’s covered over the years. He also extended gratitude to the coaches and athletic directors he’s worked with over the years.

“It’s impossible to list all the coaches who have been so good to me through the years,” Stallone wrote. “All have been such great promoters of sports in their respective schools.”

“When I wasn’t at a sporting event, I shared office space with some outstanding journalists and amazing people through my years here at the Speaker,” Stallone continued. “I thank the late Ray Saul for teaching me about Hazleton’s rich sports history. My thanks to the late Bill Crooks for hiring me in 1997 and for giving me the freedom to become the writer I am today.”

“Former sports editors Ron Kollar and the late Babe Conroy were two of my favorites, giving me responsibilities and building my confidence, while becoming my dear friends,” he continued.

“The guy that’s been there with me through it all is Dave Seamon, the current sports editor,” Stallone added. “When I came on board, we were part of a five-man sports staff. Since then, we have endured two ownership changes, numerous computer and system changes, the shrinking of the paper itself, earlier deadlines, and a downsizing of the department to just the two of us. While it hasn’t been easy, Dave made it doable. His constant drive, knowledge of the area, and love of sports helped keep me wanting to do more, and kept me “in the game” these past few years. Dave is not only a friend, but is family, and I wish him all the best moving forward.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to reflect the departures of Amanda Christman, Sam Galski, and Bob Wolfe at the Standard~Speaker.

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