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?