New editor at Beatrice Daily Sun

Patrick Ethridge took over as the new editor of the Beatrice Daily Sun in Beatrice, Neb., on Monday. Ethridge replaced Harold Campbell, who took a job at the non-Lee Chanute Tribune in Chanute, Kan.

What do you know about Ethridge?

Lee/Zillow.com partnership

Lee is part of a partnership with real estate website Zillow.com. Other newspaper chains are joining too: Hearst, MediaNews and E.W. Scripps. The goal: More money for web ads.

What do you think -- good idea? Bad idea? Will it matter?

Nevada publisher leaving

Rhonda Zuraff, publisher of the Elko Daily Free Press in Elko, Nev., is leaving her job in October. Zuraff has been publisher since 2004.

Lee sponsors tax summit

Lee Enterprises was the sponsor being a Sept. 11 tax summit in Helena, Mont., to "discuss the possibility of drafting and getting the 2009 Legislature to pass a local option tax." (The story says the summit is sponsored by The Billings Chamber of Commerce/Convention and Visitors Bureau, but Missoulapolis points out that an e-mail from the Billings Chamber says: "Many thanks to Lee Newspapers of Montana for sponsoring this Tax Summit.")

Lee's business model doesn't seem to be working -- does it that make sense that the company sponsor a tax summit?

Stock price drops

Anyone notice that Lee's stock price is below $2.50? Find the latest stock price in the sidebar on the right.

Lee was dropped from the S&P Midcap 400 last week.

26 more layoffs in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon

In Montana, the Billings Gazette laid off 7 full-time workers -- 2 in the newsroom, 2 in advertising, 2 in production, 1 in circulation -- and 2 part-time production workers last week.

In the same state, the Montana Standard in Butte laid off 7. The Helena Independent-Record laid off 5. In Wyoming, the Casper Star-Tribune laid off 4. In Oregon, Western World laid off 1.

An article in the Gazette quotes Lee VP for publishing Mike Gulledge (also the Gazette's publisher) saying Lee is adopting a "regional approach to providing financial services." Of course, there's been no such announcement -- or mention of layoffs -- on Lee's corporate site.

Graphicdesignr.net blogger Erica Smith -- a Lee employee at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- called out Lee for not reporting layoffs. She also does the Paper Cuts site that lists layoffs and buyouts across the industry.

See previous Lee layoffs

Ravalli Republic lays off 6

The Ravalli Republic in Hamilton, Mont., laid off 6 employees -- 3 full-time, 3 part-time -- and hired reporter John Cramer, who was just laid off from the Missoulian as part of a restructuring plan at the Republic.

This follows other layoffs at Lee papers. New West says more are coming in Montana: Specifically at the Helena Independent-Record, the Billings Gazette and the Montana Standard. Let me know if you hear anything.

Post-Dispatch lays off 18

Lee ended August with more layoffs: 18 at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Jobs were cut in the newsroom, production and human resources. Putting the paper together just got harder with the loss of production jobs, a sports photography editor, copy chief and night metro editor.

That's 66 layoffs companywide in August.