Globe and Mail to cut 10 per cent of staff

The Globe has joined CanWest, the Sun and everyone else in announcing cutbacks to its staff today, of up to 10 per cent of positions.  Their language in explaining this is fairly apocolyptic: “the survival of the fittest applies.” My bet: the Sun chain goes down, followed by the National Post, with English language media monopolies in every city except Toronto, and that would only have two real dailies, the Star and the Globe (the free subway papers don’t count.)

Report on Business, Jan. 10 2009

Seattle Post-Intelligencer on the brink

Hearst Corp announced yesterday that it was looking for a buyer for its $14 million a year losing Seattle daily. If not, it will be wound down. Seattle has a unique situation similar to Vancouver: two dailies owned by the same company (the Seattle Times is the other Seattle daily.) Wonder if this is a portent of things to come for Vancouver as well.

Associated Press/CanoeNews, Jan. 9 2009

Palin blames media

Sarah Palin continues her fight against media, noting that the treatment political tyro Caroline Kennedy is getting in her search for an appointment to the US Senate is kid gloves compared to what she got as a Vice-Presidential candidate. She has a point; Kennedy is vacuous and inexperienced, with nothing but a prominent name behind her. Palin at least served in muncipal and state politics. It reminds me of Lyndon Johnson’s quote about the best and brightest administation JFK left him, the one that got him into Vietnam: “I wish just one of them had run for dogcatcher once.” Political experience is necessary before stepping up to a big time political job. Even then it’s no guarantee of success.

msnbc, Jan. 9 2009