Sunday's paper held more bad news for the future of newspapers—the Yardley-based Journal Register Co., owner of 20 daily newspapers including the Pottstown Mercury and the Delaware County Times, and Philadelphia Newspapers, owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, have joined Tribune in filing for bankruptcy. This is the fourth newspaper bankruptcy since December 2008.

And on the local front, Tribune's financial guru Gerry Spector sent Morning Call employees a memo today announcing a wage freeze for 2009:

". . . given current trends and the likelihood that it will take some time for the economy to recover, we have to do even more.  For that reason, we’ve decided to implement a salary freeze for non-union employees in 2009.  For those employees represented by a union, the issue will be addressed in collective bargaining. I know this is difficult and I appreciate your understanding.  Compensation is our largest expense and a salary freeze enables us to share the sacrifice.  Hopefully, freezing salaries now will allow us to avert more drastic action in the future."

It's beginning to look like newspapers will soon be a thing of the past, like 8-track tapes.  Who will step in and watch the henhouse of government in their absence?

Got a great plug from fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare yesterday. Thanks for the traffic, Bernie! Check out his Lehigh Valley Ramblings site for more Morning Call/Tribune news and updates.

Judging from the comments, The Morning Call is in a downward spiral. I knew that when I took the buyout, but I didn't think it would end quite this fast.  The paper has suffered from bad management for nearly two decades—I don't think it will survive for another. 

The Lehigh Valley needs and deserves a good, solid news-reporting paper-of-record, but let's face it—The Morning Call ain't it. The paper is not even a shadow of what it once was—it's gone beyond that into the dark nether realms where newspapers go to die. If the future of newspapers wasn't so dim, I would suggest that all the "downsized" workers band together and start a new paper, but alas, that is just a pipedream. Oh, well. . . 

Some interesting news surfaced as Tribune's Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams, known for his rambling, stream-of-consciousness memos, visited The Morning Call on February 11 in a closed-door meeting with top execs. The next day, a new round of job cuts was announced, and a rumor that editorial VP Ardith Hilliard was history appeared on a local blogger's site. Apparently, the rumor is true. Employees were informed that Hilliard has one full year to decide to take the buyout or not. Hmmmmm, wish we underling drones had been given the same terms instead of being met at the door by a security guard. Gee, I must not live right, I guess.

The day before Abrams visit, at least 22 positions were eliminated in seven departments, another 3.2 percent of the newspaper's workforce, according to the company's website. The layoffs were primarily in advertising, marketing and circulation. Employees were offered a severance package, but significantly less than previous packages.

No rumor yet as to where the additional cuts will be culled from.