Guild asks AP to cut social media rules

Editor & Publisher reports that the News Media Guild has formally asked the AP to remove controversial social media rules it instituted last month.

The Guild, which represents about 1,500 Associated Press employees, is asking the AP to remove the rules because of concerns employees have voiced since the rules were announced to employees, June 18.
The rules include a requirement that employees delete comments of friends that could violate the AP's Ethics Policy. This stipulation is the cause of much concern and anger from AP employees who feel the measure to be instrusive.
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Gannett to cut 1,400 jobs

The Associated Press reported today that Gannett Co. plans to cut 1,400 jobs this month. That is about 3 percent of its total work force.
Bob Dickey, head of the company's newspaper division, informed staff of the layoffs in a letter Wednesday.
The majority of layoffs will come by July 9, he said.
The move follows a 10 percent cut at Gannett last year, which left the company with about 41,500 employees.
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AP will lower newspaper fees and increase online revenue

The Associated Press hopes to negotiate more licensing deals with Web sites while lowering fees for U.S. newspapers, Chief Executive Tom Curley said Tuesday.

The AP is trying to find new sources of revenue to offset reduced income from newspapers and broadcasters.

In addition to having an increased interest in online advertising, the AP is again lowering its cost to U.S. papers next year.

The AP had lowered U.S. newspapers by $30 million this year. The AP will now reduce fees by a total of $45 million for newspapers and broadcasters next year, Curley said.

AP's actions are a response to a shift of more ads to less-expensive alternatives on the Internet. Its four largest online deals are now with Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and AOL.

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Associated Press buys out veteran staff

Word that the Associated Press is offering buyouts got out Monday. The buyouts were offered three weeks ago with little publicity. The News Media Guild said the move was part of AP's attempt to reduce its labor costs by 10 percent.
The news organization is offering $500 for each year of service and pension benefits increased 14 to 16 percent.
The offers target hundreds of veteran staff. Employees who take the buyout must be at least 55 years of age, have worked at the AP at least 10 years, and their age and years of service must total up to 75.
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Trib Co. can pay bonuses, not severance

The Associated Press reports that a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that the Tribune Co. can pay more than $13 million in bonuses to almost 700 employees for their work last year.
But the judge denied allowing the Tribune to pay more than $2 million in severance payments to more than 60 employees laid off shortly before the Chicago-based company filed for bankruptcy protection.
From the story:

"We need to motivate and incentivize the key people who will implement change," Bigelow said. "These are really good people we're talking about. They're the best and the brightest of the company."

AP launches economic stress index

The Associated Press is launching an economic stress index that will provide monthly, multi-format updates on the economic stress of the United States down to the county level.
The index weighs three economic variables - unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy - to produce a score on a scale of 0-100 that measures how the recession is affecting a county compared to all others.
The scores are then plotted on the interactive Associated Press Economic Stress Maps, which demonstrate at a highly local level how economic conditions have deteriorated since October 2007. They also can be used as a tool to measure the progress of recovery in the coming months, providing a granular view of economic change in the United States.

"The AP Economic Stress Index is a valuable tool for analyzing what got us to this point of the recession," said Kristin Gazlay, the AP's managing editor for business news and global training. "But, even more importantly, it gives us a way to look at how things change over time and judge whether the economy is actually getting better, including pinpointing precisely where the recovery has its roots."