George Arwady

Teamsters Local 1100, which represents 400 Star-Ledger mailers, voted 183-18 to ratify a new labor contract that agrees to a three-year freeze on wages and a buyout of almost 100 members.  George Arwady, the publisher of the state's alrgest newspaper, has said that the Star-Ledger would be sold or close if two unions didn't ratify new agreements, and if 200 additional employees didn't agree to a buyout. 

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Teamsters Local 1100, which represents about 400 Star-Ledger employees, will vote on a new contract next Monday that "includes a three-year wage freeze and the buyout of 100 of its members," according to a report by Editor and Publisher's Joe Strupp.  These buyouts are not part of the 200 the newspaper is seeking by October 1.  Earlier this week, Star-Ledger publisher George Arwady said if the Teamsters and Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union fail to agree to new contracts, and if they can't secure 200 non-union buyouts, the state's largest newspaper could be closed or sold by January 2009.

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So, I’m sipping a cup of Wawa hazelnut coffee yesterday scrolling PolitickerNJ on my laptop when I see this ominous headline: Publisher says Star Ledger could be sold or closed by January.

My first thought was Yikes! I can’t imagine Jersey without the Ledger.  What will Christie do to keep his name recognition numbers up?

My second thought after seeing the Star Ledger’s own story in its business section today was it’s admirable the Ledger assign a veteran reporter to write a real news story about its own business troubles.  

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The Star-Ledger could be sold or closed by January if the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union doesn't ratify a labor agreement by October 8, according to an internal e-mail from publisher George Arwady.  Arwady says that the contract with the union, which represents about 90 drivers, is one of three conditions Advance Publications, the owner of the Star-Ledger, has established to keep the state's largest newspaper in operation.

In July, Arwady said the Star-Ledger is on "life support" and that the paper could be sold if 200 employees don’t agree to buyouts by October 1, and if the paper doesn’t reach agreements with labor unions.  Last week, Editor & Publisher said that Arwady told reporter Ron Marsico that the paper has not yet received the 100 news staff buyouts they need.  Marsico is expected to take the buyout, and has reportedly accepted a job with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which he has covered since 1982.

Read the Arwady e-mail:

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Sources say that veteran Star-Ledger reporter Ron Marsico, who has covered homeland security issues, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the redevelopment of lower Manhattan since early 2002, will accept a buyout backage from his newspaper and take a job with the Port Authority.  He is a former Star-Ledger statehouse reporter.

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With an October 1 deadline looming, Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp reports that the Star-Ledger is falling short of their goal to get 100 newsroom staffers to accept buyouts -- something that could cause the Newhouse family to put the state's largest newspaper up for sale. An e-mail exchange between veteran reporter Ron Marsico and publisher George Arwady suggests that the Star-Ledger's buyout offer (one year's salary) is less than at other Newhouse newspapers across the country.  (And Strupp's second story of the day, on the Star-Ledger's possible breakup with the Associated Press, is also a must-read.)

"At this time I have no update to give you on our buyouts thus far, except to tell you that the newsroom has a long way to go to reach the goal that Jim announced," Arwady wrote to Marsico on Sunday in an e-mail that E&P says was circulated throughout the paper. "As I've said repeatedly, people should make decisions about the buyout offer based on what's right for them."

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The Star-Ledger might be looking for a new owner if 200 employees don’t agree to buyouts by October 1, and if the paper doesn’t reach agreements with labor unions, according to a Star-Ledger report of publisher George Arwady’s comments to employees today. Arwady said the paper was “on life support.”

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Fourth in a five-part series on the revolving door between journalism and government in New Jersey. Yesterday, Debbie Holtz asked if reporters protect their former sources when they move from journalism to working for politicians.

Gov. Jon Corzine's new Communications Director is a Star-Ledger reporter who has covered him for the last three years These days, it seems like a week does not pass by without news of red ink running through daily newspapers. Is the troubled financial condition of the newspaper industry driving more and more reporters to PR jobs?

“Anyone who reads the business section of the newspaper knows the current climate,” explained Dr. Barbara Reed, a professor of Journalism at Rutgers University. “Everyone in journalism is aware of the current climate and we are all very worried.

“Whether it is the New York Times, the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune or the Miami Herald – and these are among the best 10 papers in America - they are all experiencing hard times. It’s a very hard place to be in because the advertising is drying up.”

Back in and around New Jersey, the picture isn’t any rosier.

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