Dealing

The Denver Newspaper Agency, which handles business matters for the Post and the Rocky, is looking to save bucks, too. April 23 marked the first Sunday that a TV-listings booklet wasn't automatically inserted into the weekend Post. Just over 100,000 subscribers asked to keep getting the guide, and because this represents a fairly modest percentage of the overall readership, expect the DNA to kill the booklet for good within a year (never mind the reported 5,200 who called to complain about its absence). Moreover, the DNA laid off eight press cleaners in March and offered voluntary separation agreements (buyouts, remember?) to sixteen people in the pre-press operation; they have until May 6 to accept the package or face the consequences. DNA spokesman Jim Nolan has no comment about press cuts other than to say that "we are continually evaluating operating efficiencies."

As for MediaNews, the firm's rumored to be on the verge of purchasing four California newspapers -- most prominently the San Jose Mercury News -- for approximately $1 billion; in a nice bit of irony, a brief about this prospect ran in the Post's April 19 business section across from an article about the proposed staff decrease. Having signed a confidentiality agreement, Singleton can't talk about that, although he does say he considers newspapers' long-term prospects to be "excellent, and we would like to own more of them." Singleton adds that each link in the MediaNews chain stands alone -- even the Post, which has taken some mighty hits. "Probably the worst decline in advertising anywhere in our company has been in Denver," he says. "Part of that is that things were so good in the good times. But it's getting hurt more in automotive and national advertising than most markets are, and revenues declined from the prior year for the first time in my memory."

Singleton emphasizes that there are no plans for more staff reductions, and he's confident that online returns are growing quickly enough to offset future print declines. Perhaps his certainty will reassure employees the next time they're asked to attend a meeting without being told why -- but probably not.

Detention: Note to students demonstrating against immigration policies: Stay away from Channel 9. On April 13, news director Patti Dennis informed employees by e-mail that about seventy Jeffco middle-schoolers were marching to 9News. "We are not going to cover protesters who show up at a television station with the motive to get media coverage," she stated. "Please ignore them." And the station did.

Dennis doesn't want anyone to think they can earn airplay about their views by landing at her front door. "If people want to protest, they should do it in front of those who set policy," she says. "We might cover something if it had to do with the station, like a programming decision. But to come to a station about an issue that involves legislation, it's pretty obvious what you want." Her sensitivity is even higher when it involves students. In fact, Channel 9 didn't do any advance reporting about an April 19 student walkout that drew a crowd of 2,500 strong to the Capitol "for fear that we would become part of the energy and advertising for it. We collectively felt that by covering it, we would sort of be an advocate for walking out of class, and that's not our role. We're here to talk about what happens, not to instigate it."

Understand that, kids? Get back to school -- now!