Muscatine Journal names new publisher

Steven Jameson will replace Muscatine Journal publisher Bob Blackman on Oct. 1. Blackman is retiring from the Muscatine, Iowa, paper.

Jameson is now the classified advertising director at the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa.

Earlier this month, Dave Bundy was named publisher of the Suburban Journals of St. Louis. Bundy moved up from editorial director at the Journals, a position he had held for three years.

St. Louis Suburban Journals publisher quits

Tom Wiley, publisher of the Suburban Journals of St. Louis, is leaving to become the publisher of the the Journal Register Co.'s New Haven (Conn.) Register. His last day will be June 4.

Wiley replaced Journal publisher Bob Williams in February when Williams became publisher of The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale, Ill. Journals editorial director Dave Bundy will take over as interim publisher of the Journals.

Former St. Charles Journal publisher dies

Bill Mullins, founding publisher of the St. Charles, Mo., Journal, died Saturday. Mullins started the Journal in 1957, which joined a chain of weekly papers, and served as publisher for 32 years. He retired in 1988. The chain was sold to Pulitzer Publishing in 2000, and to Lee Enterprises in 2005.

Suburban Journals subscription model failing?

More than a year ago, the Suburban Journals of St. Louis switched to from free to paid distribution. St. Louis Journalism Review reports that switch has not gone well: "The executives did not think the response would be as low as it was," said one ad rep. (Subscribe to the St. Louis Journalism Review to read the rest of the story.)

Seven Suburban Journals employees were laid off last week, and employees must take an unpaid furlough by the end of the fiscal year.

Suburban Journals lays off 7

Three advertising and four editorial employees were laid off Friday at the Suburban Journals of St. Louis. Remaining employees also must take a one-week unpaid furlough by the end of the fiscal year.

Suburban Journals employees are not members of the St. Louis Newspaper Guild. Lee recently presented its final offer to guild members at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which includes a 6 percent pay cut and three one-week unpaid furloughs over the next three years. The guild will vote Saturday on that offer.

Know of other layoffs or furloughs? Send tips and comments to lee.ent.watch@gmail.com.

Southern Illinoisan appoints new publisher

Bob Williams, publisher of the Suburban Journals of St. Louis, has been appointed publisher of The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale, Ill. Williams has been at the Suburban Journals since 2007; he joined Lee in 1998. He replaces Dennis DeRossett, who is leaving to become the executive director of the Illinois Press Association.

(Via e-mail)

Shot, laid-off Lee reporter starts new job

Remember the Suburban Journals reporter who was shot while covering a city council meeting, then laid off a few months later?

Good news: Todd Smith has a new job. He is working for The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., as an editor and writer for the paper's medical site. The Journal-Register is owned by GateHouse Media.

Smith also recently got married.

(Via e-mail)

20 more laid off from Suburban Journals of St. Louis

At least 20 newsroom employees were laid off Wednesday at the Suburban Journals of St. Louis. That's in addition to the 28 employees who were laid off last week. The 16-edition paper has also eliminated six editions.

(Via e-mails)

46 laid off in St. Louis

Eighteen employees were laid off at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and 28 were laid off at the Suburban Journals of St. Louis on Friday.

The Post-Dispatch laid off 14 full-time and four part-time employees. The memo from publisher Kevin Mowbray follows:

“While we remain hopeful that the worst of this economic recession is behind us, we found it necessary to reduce our work force today,” said St. Louis Post-Dispatch Publisher Kevin Mowbray. “However, even with these reductions we continue to be the largest news gathering operation in the St. Louis metropolitan area with over 1.3 million St. Louis adults reading the Post-Dispatch or visiting STLtoday.com each week.”

The work force reduction included 14 full time positions and 4 part time positions: 2 from Operations, 12 from Advertising, and 4 from newsroom (news researchers and a photo assistant).

The managing editor and deputy managing editor for features recently announced their resignations from the Post-Dispatch.

Mowbray also is trying to sell his house, but said he is staying at the Post-Dispatch.

The Suburban Journals laid two off sales directors, outbound recruitment and its Jefferson County, Mo., staff.

(Via e-mails)

Lee nominated 'Ass Clown of the Week'

Lee Enterprises is on the Riverfront Times's nominees for "Ass Clown of the Week." Lee, owner of the Suburban Journals of St. Louis, laid off reporter-turned-Web editor Todd Smith last week. In February 2008, Smith was covering a story at the Kirkwood, Mo., City Hall when a gunman shot and killed several officials. Smith was shot in the hand -- he's the only person who was shot to survive the attack.

Other nominees: Hoodlums at Imagine College Preparatory High School, Meramec-Arnold Elks and U.S. Fidelis. Voting is open through Sunday.

Suburban Journals reporter shot while covering meeting laid off

The Riverfront Times in St. Louis has an interview with Todd Smith -- the editor laid off from the Suburban Journals of St. Louis a few months after he was shot reporting on a city council meeting.

Suburban Journals lays off 15

The Suburban Journals of St. Louis laid off 15 employees on April 15, including reporter Todd Smith. Smith was shot in the hand last year while covering a meeting at the Kirkwood City Hall in Kirkwood, Mo. Six people were killed: Two police officers, three city officials and the shooter. The Kirkwood mayor was injured, and died a few months later.

(Via e-mail, blog comment)

Furlough update 2

A commenter raises a good question: Will overtime be paid while co-workers are forced to take time off? Has anyone heard?

I would assume that if employees are being furloughed, overtime had already been eliminated, but I know that's not true. MSNBC has a story on furloughs, but it doesn't answer this question. It does say that hourly employees can be furloughed repeatedly, but salaried employees cannot. If this is Lee's solution to fixing the second quarter crunch (second quarter ends March 30), what happens in the third quarter? Or fourth?

A reminder: If you are taking unpaid time off, that means no work. No work e-mails, no phone calls, no work.

More papers have announced furlough plans. Also in St. Louis, Post-Dispatch union employees are voting Saturday on furlough plans; furloughs were already announced for salaried employees. The union is asking for a no-layoff promise, and of course isn't getting it. (We all realize that layoffs are still possible/likely despite furloughs, right?)

The list so far:

• Suburban Journals of St. Louis: Salaried employees must take a week off by March. (e-mail tip)
  
• Herald and Review: Hourly employees must take off 12 hours by May 30, and salaried employees' pay will be reduced by an amount equal to 12 hours.
  
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Non-union employees -- about 300 people -- must take off 1 week by March 31. Union employees will vote this week on furlough plans.
  
• Rapid City Journal: As previously posted, four employees were laid off and employees must take time off by April.
• Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: All employees must take off 1 week by April 1.
• Longview Daily News: Employees were asked to volunteer for furloughs. If not enough people sign up, they'll consider making them mandatory.
• Bloomington Pantagraph: 4-day furloughs by April 17 for hourly employees; 4-day pay cut for salaried employees (from comments)
• La Crosse Tribune and River Valley Newspaper Group: "Non-commission" employees must take 40 unpaid hours off between now and April (e-mail tip)

Are there others? Let us know in the comments or e-mail lee.ent.watch@gmail.com.

Suburban Journals of St. Louis lay off 39

The Suburban Journals laid off 39 employees Friday and will consolidate editions. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch laid off 39 on Thursday.

Back in November, CEO Mary Junck said the company would cut this year's operating expenses by 6 to 7 percent. We've hit the end of the first quarter -- looks like this is how they're cutting expenses.

Suburban Journals switch to subscriptions

No long after cutting staff, now it looks like the Suburban Journals of St. Louis are cutting readers. For the first time, the Journals will become subscription-based papers: $20 a year. The fee is not much, but the timing, economically, is very bad. The weekly, which used to cover about 20 counties, is now down to nine.

Lee lays off 45 at Suburban Journals

The Post-Dispatch got all of the headlines last week when 20 employees were laid off. But on the same day, the Suburban Journals of St. Louis laid off 45 employees in advertising and editorial. Yep. 45.

The River Front Times has an account of what happened. Sending people to a conference room to lay them off en masse? Very wrong.

Suburban Journals lays off 15

The Paper Cuts blog says 15 employees were laid off last week at the Suburban Journals of St. Louis. The layoff blog has the memo from the Journals publisher.

In the past this month, layoffs were made at 3 Idaho papers (North Side News, Gooding County Leader and Southern Idaho Press), The Times of Northwest Indiana and The Lincoln Journal Star.