Parent firm of Jersey Journal warns it may close

The parent company of The Jersey Journal says the Hudson County daily newspaper may cease publication in April if revenue does not improve.

Executives of the Evening Journal Association told newspaper employees Monday that April 13 would be the final publication day if revenue is not enough to support the paper's reduced expense plans.

The company says it may also discontinue publication of its weekly newspapers serving Bayonne, West Hudson and Secaucus.

In a statement quoted on The Jersey Journal Web site, Publisher Kendrick Ross said he is optimistic that a plan can be developed to save the daily and some of the weeklies, while positioning the company for growth as the economy rebounds.

Company executives did not immediately return telephone messages Monday.

The company announced Friday that Feb. 26 will be the final edition of its free Spanish-language weekly, El Nuevo Hudson.

-The Associated Press

300 of Color Lost Newspaper Jobs

An estimated 2,400 journalists left newsrooms in 2007 through a
combination of buyouts and layoffs, and nearly 300 of them were
journalists of color, the American Society of Newspaper Editors
reported on Sunday.

"Since 2001, newsrooms have lost an estimated 3,800 professionals, a
6.7 percent decline. But the largest loss came last year," the ASNE
said in reporting its annual diversity census.

"The percent of minority journalists working at daily newspapers grew
minimally to 13.52 percent from 13.43 percent of all journalists,
according to ASNE," a news release said as the society opened its
annual convention in Washington.

The figure had risen to 13.73 percent in 2006. The organization first
set a goal of reaching parity with the percentage of people of color
in the general population by 2000, then by 2025. In 2006, the general
population percentage was 34 percent, according to the census bureau.

In a conference call as ASNE prepared to release its figures, the
presidents of the associations of black, Hispanic, Asian American and
Native Americans, plus their umbrella Unity organization, unanimously
agreed that there is no way the industry will reach parity by 2025 at
the rate it is going, Mark Fitzgerald reported Sunday for Editor &
Publisher.

-Journal-isms

David Aldridge leaving Phila. Inquirer

Sports columnist David Aldridge, hit by layoffs at the Philadelphia Inquirer a year ago, then reinstated after protests that a disproportionate number of journalists of color were affected, is leaving the paper, he told colleagues last week on Thursday.
“I'm just tired,” Aldridge told Richard Prince’s Journal-isms. “I've been full-time with the Inquirer and Turner since the fall of '04 and it's been a grind,” referring to Turner Network Television. “I really enjoyed my time in Philly and I've come to really respect the fans there, who only want to win. I don't have anything else lined up other than continuing to work with TNT, which continues to be an excellent place to be.”
Aldridge becomes the third black columnist to leave the Inquirer sports department recently, following Stephen A. Smith, who was reassigned to be a reporter and instead left the paper, and Claire Smith, assistant sports editor and baseball columnist, who went to ESPN.
Sports editor Jim Cohen said in a memo, “David Aldridge will be leaving The Inquirer after next week. As many of you know, David has been juggling responsibilities for The Inquirer and a television network for a number of years, and that has become untenable for him. We will miss him for his reporting, maturity and professionalism. As someone who has worked with David in newspapers and television, I have always appreciated his dedication to doing journalism the right way, regardless of the medium and of the industry trends. At this time, David plans to devote his full attention to television. We wish David and his family well.”
Cohen told Journal-isms on Friday, “I feel very strongly that diversity is very important to our newspaper and our readers. I am committed to making us more diverse. I understand that actions speak louder than words, and I hope our actions in the future will speak positively for themselves.”
In January 2007, Aldridge was one of 71 members of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia in the Inquirer newsroom who were notified that they would be laid off. After further negotiations between the Guild and management, he was reinstated.

-By Richard Prince’s Journal-isms

Former Phila. columnist, Stephen A. Smith gives up radio show

Stephen A. Smith, the former Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist who is now an NBA analyst and commentator for ESPN, is giving up the radio show he began three years ago on ESPN's radio network, he told listeners to his show on Friday.
"ESPN wanted me to concentrate on television and I agreed," Smith told Journal-isms. "I'm a bit tired. It's a two-hour radio show. It was physically taxing. I don't think a lot of people realize that about radio."
Smith's New York-based show aired from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. In September, the last hour began airing nationally. Its final broadcast "for right now" will be Thursday, he said.
"You used to see me on TV" frequently, Smith said. "Now you might see me on Friday night or occasionally on 'SportsCenter.' Now you're going to see me a lot more."
Smith said he had to be in New York or at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to do the radio show, which limited his mobility.
"I don't like to talk about people that I can't talk to, he said. "I want to be where I can see you. I don't want to be on the sidelines pontificating."
ESPN announced in September that Smith's radio show was going national, a month after the Inquirer stripped him of his column and reassigned him to the reporters ranks, an assignment he never accepted.
He also hired a high-powered attorney, Florida trial lawyer Willie E. Gary.
In January, the Inquirer fired Smith for job abandonment, and he shot back at the newspaper, saying through Gary, "What they have done to me is malicious, intentional and vindictive."
Smith told Journal-isms that without the radio show, he will have more time to write for ESPN: The Magazine and espn.com, although no arrangements with those units have been worked out.

–Richard Prince’s Journal-isms

Watch on St. Louis-Post Dispatch/More LA Times layoffs

We’re watching the St. Louis-Post Dispatch after another Black journalist, Andre Jackson, assistant managing editor for business, has left the paper six months after seven Black journalists left, taking the paper’s offer of voluntary early retirement. Former St. Louis-Post Dispatch home editor, Jamila Robinson told Journal-isms in September that, "It's a very difficult time for people of color at this newspaper." She contended that the newspaper articulates the right sentiments about diversity but they weren't reflected in the people populating the executive suites or in promotions.” Editor Arnie Robbins disagreed, saying, "We've made a real commitment to diversity in our hiring and our content . . . I'm proud of the work we've done in terms of diversity," though he said, "we want to do better."
In the most recent census of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Post-Dispatch reported 16.0 percent people of color: 3.5 percent Asian American, 11.3 percent African American, 1.2 percent Hispanic and no Native Americans.

2 More Black Journalists Leave L.A. Times
Black journalists Mike Terry, longtime sportswriter, and Gregory W. Griggs, a reporter in the suburban Ventura County Bureau, left the Los Angeles Times on Friday after accepting buyouts. Their departures further diminish the diversity at the newspaper, which has now lost eight black journalists since June 1, 2007.
- Journal-isms