Lee sets up new finance center; employees laid off

A couple of weeks ago, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Iowa) Courier announced it will become one of six regional finance centers for Lee Enterprises. The new center will handle regional billing, accounting and customer service for 10 Lee papers. Those papers include the The Times-News in Twin Falls Idaho; North County Times in Escondido, Calif., The Post-Star in Glens Falls, N.Y.; The Sentinel in Carlisle, Pa.; The Times and Democrat in Orangeburg, S.C.; The Citizen in Auburn, N.Y.; The Ledger-Independent in Maysville, Ky.; The Daily News in Longview, Wash.; and Casper Star-Tribune in Casper, Wyo. The last papers joined the group on May 3.

In March, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier's call center was outsourced to a group in Indiana; four employees were laid off.

While the Courier is expected to hire a few employees, the other papers will or already have laid off their finance employees. Know of layoffs or consolidation news? Send tips to lee.ent.watch@gmail.com.

3 papers upgrade press-control systems

Press-control and management systems are being updated at the Times of Northwest Indiana, Quad-City Times and North County Times.

Harland Simon is replacing out-of-date computer hardware to make systems more efficient and improve performance. Work at the Times of Northwest Indiana and Quad-City Times has finished; work at the North County Times should be finished within a few weeks.

Lee circulation declines

Circulation numbers for the past six months are out. Here's what I've seen so far:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo.
Weekday circulation fell 11 percent to 213,472, and Sunday circulation fell 5 percent to 401,427.

Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Ariz.
Weekday circulation remained the same, but Saturday circulation increased by nearly 6 percent to 102,058. Sunday circulation fell about 8 percent to 135,238.

North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
Weekday circulation fell 18 percent to 68,940.

The Journal Times, Racine, Wis.
Monday through Saturday circulation fell to 27,134 from 27,627 six months ago. Sunday circulation fell to 29,424 from 29,430 six months ago.

Have you seen circulation numbers for other Lee papers? Share them here, or send me an e-mail: lee.ent.watch@gmail.com

North County Times lays off 34

The North County Times in Escondido, Calif., laid off 25 newsroom employees, and 9 more from circulation and advertising on Tuesday. In September, the paper laid off 10 people. Publisher Peter York pointed out "We're not losing money, but we're not doing as well as we ought to." Not losing money, just jobs.