Dallas Morning News Buyouts/Layoffs

[RobertB]

The Dallas Observer is more than happy to report on the situation at what it disdainfully calls "Dallas' Only Daily". In a couple of blog (http://www.dallasobserver.com/blogs/?p=1300) entries (http://www.dallasobserver.com/blogs/?p=1302), Robert Willonsky points to a blog, possibly by a DaMN insider, that names names -- each of the people listed has specifically requested that their name be listed as someone who is considering the News' buyout proposal.

I recognized Ed Bark, the News' TV critic. A lot of folks on this board follow certain reporters, so I wonder how many other names ring a bell?

http://newsbuyout.blogspot.com/
SOME NAMES OF BUYOUT TAKERS
What follows is a partial listing of those who have agreed to accept the buyout. Each has agreed in advance to have their names posted. Potential employers should pay attention. More names will appear as more people agree to be disclosed. Of course, none of these people has received official notice that his or her request for a buyout has been accepted.

Judy Sall, Reference Library (head librarian)
Larry Derrick, Reference
Kevin Blackistone, Sports Day (columnist)
Ted Ingram, Universal Desk (copy editor)
Michael Dean, Metro
Tracy Cowle, Universal Desk
Ken Stephens, Sports Day (section editor)
Laura Beil, Discoveries (medical writer)
Charles Ealy, Arts (Books editor)
Ed Bark, Arts (TV critic)
Jerome Weeks, Arts (Books writer)
Randy Bishop, News Art (illustrator)
Beatriz Terrazas, Lifestyles (writer)
Brenda Flatt, Editorial (administrative assistant)
Vernon Smith, Foreign (assistant foreign editor)
Michael Precker, Lifestyles (writer)
Bill Marvel, Lifestyles (writer)
Cathy Harasta, Sports Day (reporter/columnist)
Alysia Oglesby, Photo (assistant photo editor)
Harriet Blake, Dallasnews.com (news editor)
Louise Applebome, Metro (reporter)
Dwayne Bray, Metro (Deputy Managing Editor)
Gerry Fraley, Sports Day (columnist)
Lennox Samuels, Foreign (Mexico City bureau)
Pam Maples, Projects (Assistant Managing Editor)
Steve Steinberg, Lifestyles (copy desk)
Bill Lodge, Metro (Collin County reporter)
Susan Verhault, Arts (copy editor)
David Thorn, Universal Desk (deputy chief)
Mike Weiss, National (assistant national editor)
Manny Mendoza, Arts (TV critic)
Mike Peters, Foreign (assistant foreign editor)
Doug Swanson, Projects (reporter)
Cheri Shipman, News Desk (assistant news editor)
Carol Portele, Editorial (executive secretary)
Phillip Wuntch, Arts (movie critic)
Connie Dufner, Lifestyles (Home editor)
Kathy Thacker, Business (assistant business editor)
David Dillon, Arts (architecture critic)
Allen Pusey, Washington Bureau (reporter)
Dennis Hall, Sports Day (assistant sports editor)
Robert Dodge, Washington Bureau (reporter)
Richard Whittle, Washington Bureau (reporter)
Kristine Hughes, Metro (Richardson reporter)
Anne Bothwell, Arts (music editor)
William Snyder, Photo (director)
Jean Nash Johnson, Lifestyles (reporter)
Maggi Manning, News Art (designer)
Rick Holter, Arts (editor)
Dotty Griffith, Arts (restaurant critic)
Pete Slover, Texas and Southwest (reporter)
Paige Sanders, Universal Desk (copy editor)
Samantha Shaddock, Universal Desk (copy editor)
Toya Stewart, Metro (reporter)

Anyone else who wants their name posted should send an email to mr.sunbeam. Please don't pass on names of others. No name will be posted without express authorization from the buyout-taker.

[CityLove]

I'm especially saddened by the inclusion of Jerome Weeks (he did some work for us at our April show, and is a truly nice person, and a joy to work with) and Dotty Griffith (I have been following her work for quite a while and will truly miss her contributions).

[SDORN]

yes it is another sad chapter in Dallas history.
The hit just keep coming.

Randy bishop is freind of Mine,
Beatriz - followed her stuff for awhile
kevin blackstone- ditto
and Cathy Harasta ditto

:(

Scott

[RobertB]

According to Willonsky in his latest blog entry (http://www.dallasobserver.com/blogs/?p=1326) on the subject, papers from New York to Kansas City are panning the News' buyout strategy. The Kansas City paper (or more accurately, the blog of one of its columnists) goes further, blaming the impending demise of the Arts and Entertainment section on Belo-owned WFAA:

Belo, a company founded on great newspapers, now lets its TV-stations tail wag the print dawg. [TV critic Ed] Bark hasn’t been allowed to cover Dallas TV (hey, it’s only the No. 6 market) because Belo owns WFAA-8, the formerly dominant ABC affil there.
Understandably, Wilonsky appears to revel in the fact that he's not the only one pulling Belo's tail these days.

[gc]

I hope Steve Brown doesn't go away....

[Lakewooder]

I haven't seen a Steve Brown byline in several days -- nothing on his usual Friday extravaganza and no 'Steve Brown is on vacation' disclaimer...

?

[mjblazin]

He's going to moderate a discussion about the Cedars at Southside on Lamar next Tuesday. You can ask him.

[BigD5349]

I'm really surprised to see David Dillon on the list. I'd hate to see him go; he gives architects and developers a hard time, but he is an advocate of high standards & raises the level of discussion in this town a notch or two.

[mikedsjr]

http://www.unclebarky.com/why.html

The Bark Starts Here
09/14/06 11:01 PM
By ED BARK
Every dog has his day. So this is Bark unleashed on the new unclebarky.com

I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to readers of The Dallas Morning News, where for better or worse my TV columns and stories had been housed since June 1, 1980. We were told that upper management approval would be required for any and all farewells. In other words I couldn't have been truthful about my real reasons for leaving a newspaper that had provided me with great opportunities and experiences, as well as a very gainful living. I'm sincerely thankful for that.

What I'm feeling now, however, is an urge to strike back in the one way that seems both just and justified. It's grounded in principle. Honest.

More at link.

[RobertB]

Great stuff. I can't find an RSS feed link, though -- hope he corrects that oversight soon.

[mikedsjr]

This thread will probably die off now. Dallas Metropolis might get threatened out of existence by BELO if they allow such comments and threads to continue. You better hurry and shut down this thread before BELO buys you out!

[Quiz03]

This thread will probably die off now. Dallas Metropolis might get threatened out of existence by BELO if they allow such comments and threads to continue. You better hurry and shut down this thread before BELO buys you out!

It certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to at least give lip service to copyright laws on this forum.

[mikedsjr]

Great stuff. I can't find an RSS feed link, though -- hope he corrects that oversight soon.

http://www.unclebarky.com/dfw_files/RSS.xml

He just added it.

[mikedsjr]

Quiz, You sound like a DMN lawyer with a happy trigger finger ready to do dirty work.

[Quiz03]

Quiz, You sound like a DMN lawyer with a happy trigger finger ready to do dirty work.

No, only someone painfully aware that this site could be shutdown swiftly by Belo if they wanted to because of the thousands of copyright violations on the site.

[mikedsjr]

That's true. Sorry for my trigger finger.

[trolleygirl]

This is how they will save themselves- by becoming the local gossip pages- who was spotted eating ice cream with who??? Enquiring minds want to know..... find it on Dallasnews.com........

http://metro.beloblog.com/archives/2006/09/the_police_chief_and_the_repor.html

September 20, 2006
The police chief and the reporter

You would think the hottest story coming out of the Dallas Police Department this week would concern the latest FBI’s crime stats that, once again, target Dallas as the nation’s top major city for violent crime.

But no, the police story of the week concerned Police Chief David Kunkle filing for divorce from his fourth wife, and acknowledging that he was seeing Channel 11 reporter Sarah Dodd, who covers Dallas City Hall.

Their budding romance has been the subject of rumors in recent days as the pair was seen riding a motorcycle together, eating ice cream together and looking pretty intimate together at a popular West Village restaurant.

Forget about murders and assaults for a minute.
What about this handholding?


Was anybody at City Hall bothered by this courtship, reporters wondered? Was it OK for a police chief to date a reporter who occasionally covered his department?

On Wednesday, The Dallas Morning News asked the chief’s boss, City Manager Mary Suhm, if she had any concerns about his probable love life. Were rules possibly being violated — the ones governing public officials having improper personal relationships, perhaps?

Ms. Suhm gave it some thought and released this statement: “I trust the chief to keep his professional and private life appropriately separate.”

Although she did not mention Ms. Dodd by name, the city manager added, “I do think if I were Channel 11, I would reassign the reporter’s beat.”

Ms. Dodd, 32, has been a reporter and sometimes-anchor at KTVT-TV since 2000. She was on vacation Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

Chief Kunkle, 55, who has been Dallas’ top cop since 2004, acknowledged that he and Ms. Dodd were involved in a “relationship,” but he declined to call it dating.

“I don’t know what I would call it,” he said Wednesday in a brief telephone interview. “We have been friends for awhile, and we do things together.”

He said he met Ms. Dodd in 2004, when he became a candidate for his current job. But he could not recall when their relationship became more than just a reporter having lunch with a source.

Mr. Kunkle said that “seeing” Ms. Dodd was not a problem because he always strives to “keep my professional life and private life separate.” Earlier this week, he said he made the same assurance to Ms. Suhm.

Mr. Kunkle said he also would reassure other reporters that he would not violate their confidence by becoming personally involved with Ms. Dodd.

“I keep their confidence, and I respect their enterprise work,” Mr. Kunkle said of other journalists. “I’m friends or near-friends with many of them.”


Posted by Sherry Jacobson at 5:50 PM (E-mail this entry)

[frankchitown]

Gross, Im 31, and I couldnt imagine dating a 55 year old. Do police chiefs make enough to be a sugar daddy?

[trolleygirl]

Gross, Im 31, and I couldnt imagine dating a 55 year old. Do police chiefs make enough to be a sugar daddy?

Well, yeah it's six figures, but I can't imagine that Sara's salary is too shabby either. Plus, Kunkle works out. I'm sure he's got a hot bod.

My last significant other was 20 years older than me, and I'm only 31. It's not that bad. With the AARP card, we got discounts on stuff. There are some benefits.

[sasquatch69]

This is how they will save themselves- by becoming the local gossip pages- who was spotted eating ice cream with who??? Enquiring minds want to know..... find it on Dallasnews.com........

I think that's why this appeared on the blog instead of as a regular news story. It's not really news per se, but it is enough of a development to be blog-worthy (after all, this is a high-profile chief of police and a high-profile reporter who has been covering his department as part of her beat).

[CityLove]

I wonder if it would be as news-worthy if Sarah were 15 years older...

[frankchitown]

Its not newsworthy now

[mjblazin]

Was Ms. DiMartino's departure a personal move simply coincidental with other moves or was it part of the restructuring? She wasn't there long enough to get a buyout.
Her columns did not directly touch urban Dallas subjects, but she did discuss other issues that affect them.

[mgd323]

Her next to last column mentioned a leave of absense as if she was just taking some time off, but it's pretty coincidental that her last column was that Friday.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Excellent interview with Robert Decherd regarding his pay raise and recent layoffs:

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2008/12/questions-about-decherds-140-raise.html

Trust me, it's worth reading...

[Random Traffic Guy]

LOL that was good. Also today an update on Unfair Park about merging sports reports (http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2008/12/word_is_news_and_star-telegram.php) between DMN and Startlegram.


Q. In the first nine months of the year, the operating profits of your company plunged by 99.8% to $156,000, according to your most recent financial statement. In the interests of improving shareholder value, a major responsibility of the CEO is seeing to the profitability of the company. If any other employee in your company fell short in his duties to this degree, would he or she be getting a 140% raise?

A.

So by omitting his $450,000 raise, the CEO could have singlehandedly nearly quadrupled their profits :rolleyes:

[TexasVines]

all news papers should have seen this coming when they became AP reprinters and opinion rags

[Someone]

it would probably help all papers if they got back to reporting news VS 100% opinion pieces