The News & Observer on a One-Way Road to Perdition

The News & Observer on its Road to Perdition

Merriam-Webster defines “Perdition” as “destruction… obsolete … eternal damnation”.

The News & Observer (and its equally evil McClatchy sibling – The Charlotte Observer) is on a one-way Road to Destruction… Obsolescence… Eternal Damnation.

The recent “clever marketing ploy” of throwing its most popular columnist – Barry “Sportin’ Life” Saunders – under the “save a few bucks” bus was a notable speed bump along that road.

Those of us in the ever-growing “haven’t read it in years” category won’t miss Barry Saunders’ race-baiting essays built around Fred Sanford quotes. However, the predictable reactions in “South Raleigh” and “East Derm” were decidedly unfavorable to the failing newspaper.

When my old sparring partner – Good Neighbor BELO – is pissed, you know his rank & file neighbors ain’t happy. BELO is pissed.

Years of The N&O effusively pandering to that particular ethno-cultural constituency just went down the drain… glub… glub… glub.

Not all that critical however since that overtly pandered-to constituency never repaid The News & Observer in either subscribers or advertisers.

Like rubberneckers tapping their brakes to check-out roadkill, what might curious on-lookers expect to see in the weeks and months to come from the ailing McClatchy media operations.?

The one certainty is the ever-increasing very red ink gushing from both operations’ bottom lines. No penny-pinching or hand wringing is going to stop that.

Here’s some likely “mile-markers” on their Road to Perdition. Look for some / all of these to come to pass in the months to come in some order.

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All middle management employees to be “unhired”. A “lucky”(?) % of whom will be rehired at significantly lower salaries with a clear understanding that said “rehiring” is subject to immediate termination.

Translation: Come back under even more unpleasant working conditions for significantly lower pay with no job security whatsoever…

Or… join all your former N&O co-workers now working split shifts at Denny’s or the graveyard shift loading trucks at UPS… if you’re lucky.

Combining of all departments – News, Sports, Editorial, Business – between the failing Raleigh operation and the failing Charlotte operation. And that silly Derm edition, but who cares about that?
Going to one Publisher over both News & Observer and Charlotte Observer.
Going to one Executive Editor / Editorial Editor rather than two separate positions.

News for both will become 90% syndicated feeds from a central McClatchy aggregate grabbing anything it can find on social media. The more provocative the better for “click bait”.
Political News will be whatever any Liberal Democrat whack-job wants to submit. Unless RobRielleWHO wants to work for peanuts. He might…
Local news will depend upon un-paid “contributors” who “always wanted to be a reporter”. …. “Carolina CC pool to close on Thursday….”
Sports for both papers will be a couple of eager beaver interns surfing board monkey fan sites for salacious rumors and wild-ass rants from deranged nitwits. Not unlike The N&O’s current “political news” coverage.

Eliminating by at least half ALL executive management personnel.

After years of throwing “the worker bees” under the bus… it’s now time to slice ‘n dice the “suits”. Well past time in the opinion of most former N&O worker bees.

Eventually cutback print editions from “a daily” to 6… to 4… to 3. Before they get to “just 4” the orchestra on this Titanic will already be playing “Nearer My God To Thee”.

The current desperation beg / garage-sale of access to their “digital edition” was as pitiful as expecteded. Regardless, the size of The News & Observer data base of “eyes” will continue to be greatly exaggerated to prospective digital advertisers.

As BobLee points on in his current commentary, the “digital edition” a.k.a “their website” will become an unnavigable mishmash of pop-ups and video ads.

With ever-dwindling advertiser interests, anyone willing to pay anything can get whatever they want in terms of size, frequency and obnoxiousness.

NOTE: If the current proposed NCGA legislation – re: posting of legal notices – passes into law, it will kink the one revenue hose supplying their only source of significant income – legal notices.

With the NCGA under Republican control and with The News & Observer’s long history of publicly defaming and despising any/all Republicans, what are the odds Repub lawmakers will be charitable to their bitterest arch enemy? Bwahahaha…

Lose legal notices and both failing McClatchy operations – Charlotte and Raleigh – will go into immediate financial CODE BLUE.