News debuts morning paper
Circulation and editorial start-up efforts praised
The new, morning-only Buffalo News debuted
in Niagara County this month and added 1,400 subscribers in the first week of its year-long transformation from a 127-year old afternoon daily.
Another 1,000 families upgraded their subscriptions to every day delivery, not just once, twice or
three times a week.
That, in a nutshell, is how the first week of the
News' transition from an afternoon to morning paper went in Niagara County.
Morning-only home delivery started May 1 in
Niagara, and News executives say the start up,
with a few exceptions, went well.
“I'm pleased with week one, and I'm not blowing smoke,” said Richard C. Williams, the News'
vice president of circulation. “I think we made the
right decision to do it in steps.”
Yes, circulation is up but so are complaints.
With the dramatic change in delivery schedules,
complaints spiked during the first few days of the
switch but eventually leveled off as the first week
came to an end.
“Complaints are much, much higher,” said
Guild President Patrick Gormley, a district manager.
Gormley said home delivery in general continues to be hurt by missed deadlines and delays. He
said it's not uncommon for independent dealers to
wait two or three hours for the paper to roll off the
press each morning.
The News, which relies on a network of 80 to 90
dealers to distribute the paper in Niagara County,
has stated publicly that its goal is to deliver the paper
to readers' doorsteps by 6 a.m. each weekday.
Williams acknowledges the spike in complaints,
but said that's to be expected in the first few weeks of
a brand new delivery system.
(Continued on Page 2)
Non-union advertising reps
take gripes to management
The folks who sell retail advertising at The Buffalo News are fuming.
They're so mad they sent an anonymous memo
to management detailing nine separate criticisms,
including the company's failure to hire or promote
qualified supervisors.
“It is unfortunate that we must address our complaints and concerns anonymously, for fear of retribution and the intimidation factor the News has
managed to instill in all of us.” the April 28 memo
states.
The letter, which claims to be from a “majority”
of the retail advertising staff, offers a point-bypoint outline of the department's woes and mirrors
many of the complaints of Guild members who
work on the other side of the 4th floor in Classified
Advertising.
At the top of the list is the lack of well-qualified
(Continued to Page 3)
News goes head-to-head with Niagara Gazette
(Continued from Page 1)
Goodbye Mrs. Claus…
He said most of the complaints are missed deliveries, not late deliveries, and that efforts are under way to correct those problems.
“As the week went on, we were right on target,”
Williams said of missed deadlines earlier in the
week.
As part of the change to morning home delivery,
The News is conducting a major advertising and
marketing campaign that promotes the paper's editorial content.
“Based on the first week, I'm very happy with
the work of our Niagara Bureau, led by Scott Scanlon,” said Editor and Vice President Margaret M.
Sullivan. “We are giving our Niagara readers an
impressive package of Niagara news and features
every day.”
The News decided to make the change to morning-only home delivery after surveys and focus
groups revealed that readership trends here are
starting to mirror the nation.
More and more, readers want their news first
thing in the morning, in part because of the
increasing popularity of the Internet and aroundthe-clock cable TV news.
Sullivan thinks the change to morning home delivery will help The News compete more effectively while wooing new readers.
“Reporters in the bureau have stepped up the
pace, and it shows,” she said. “Meanwhile, the
nightside news desk, particularly Dorothy Keenan,
and the graphics department are putting together
our more comprehensive Niagara package very attractively.”
News executives think the change will help the
paper combat its declining circulation, and the up
tick in Niagara subscriptions is encouraging. Right
now, the paper's circulation in Niagara is about
23,000 daily and 37,000 on Sunday.
The goal is to go head to head with the Niagara
Gazette and eventually surpass it as Niagara
County's paper of choice.
“I think they're vulnerable,” said Williams.
The News, which has operated an all-day paper
since 1982, expects to continue the switch to morning-only home delivery in the rest of its circulation
area next year.
Former Guild Social Chair Judy Alfrets, aka Mrs.
Claus, retired from The Buffalo News last month. Coworkers gave Judy and husband to be, Andy Post, a big
send off at the George Urban Mansion in Cheektowaga.
Judy will be remembered most for her energy, vivaciousness and never-ending array of seasonal costumes.
By all accounts, everyone’s favorite was her portrayal of
a bodacious Mrs. Claus.
The Frontier Reporter
May, 2006
Published monthly by:
The Buffalo Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 31026
726 Exchange St., Suite 510
Buffalo, New York 14210
Email: bflonewsguild@aol.com
Phone (716) 856-2828
Fax: (716) 856-3044
Editor: Phil Fairbanks
2006 Officers
President - Patrick Gormley
V.P./Mobilization & Communication - John F. Bonfatti
V.P./Contract Administration - Richard Fay
Treasurer - Robert Snyder
Secretary - Donna Ryan
Local Service Representative - Tammy Turnbull
Membership Assistance Coordinators
Dave Hauck (866-9967/497-3835) and Ralphine Magby (8128611)
Read the Frontier Reporter on the Web
http://buffalonewspaperguild.com
Managers blamed
for poor ad sales
(Continued from Page 1)
sales managers and the company's inability to control “ill-behaved managers.”
“They are not held accountable for the unprofessional nature in which they address their employees,” the letter states. “Belittling employees in front
of other co-workers is not and should not be acceptable.”
The letter questions the demands The News
places on its sales staff, which relies on wages
based entirely on commissions.
“It is impressed upon us that we should feel fortunate to have a job, and that there is a certain
status to being employed at The Buffalo News,” it
said. “Regrettably, status does not pay our bills.”
The authors also bemoaned the lack of any
“sense of family” at The News.
“The fact that most of us have evening obligations should not make us the target for scrutiny just
because we can not remain in the office well after 5
p.m.” it states. “All this means is that we have our
priorities straight.”
The memo also outlined a series of other complaints, including management's failure to acknowledge the “employee morale crisis” and insure the
advertising department is treated in an “intelligent
and educated” fashion.
News executives acknowledged the seriousness
of the letter and said they are taking steps to address the concerns of employees in the non-union
department.
“When Warren Colville, president of The Buffalo News, read his letter, he acted quickly by calling a meeting with all sales people the very next
day and told them he would act on it immediately,‘
said Daniel J. Farberman, vice president of human
resources.
“Since then, Warren has held individual meetings with a large part of the staff, several meetings
with sales managers and a follow-up meeting with
the entire staff. The News is committed to treating
all of our valued employees in a professional manner and will not tolerate conduct to the contrary.”
Monthly Meeting Minutes
Meeting called to order by President Pat Gormley at
7:45 p.m., April 25, 2006. Motion/Second/Carried:
Becky Haderer/Brian Meyer; To approve minutes as
printed in the March Frontier reporter.
Correspondence:
None.
Committees:
Mobilization: Jay Bonfatti said the Editorial Steering
committee meeting will be held May 2 to get more editorial people involved.
Grievances: Bonfatti outlined the 2004 sports cartoonist grievance and the proposed settlement between
the Guild and The Buffalo News. As part of the settlement, the News agrees to hire a new graphic artist who
will do nightside graphics work previously done by an
exempt graphics editor. In return, the Guild will allow
the News’ to continue using a freelance cartoonist to do
the Saturday sports cartoon. M/S/C: Meyer/Haderer; To
approve sports cartoonist settlement.
Tina Ouellette, Classified Chief Steward, explained
the grievances regarding vacation scheduling and the
violations of seniority rights. Under a proposed settlement, The News would restore vacation make-up time
to senior staffers. In addition, for the weeks of Dec 3
and 10, the News will increase the number of people by
one who can be on vacation. For the weeks of Dec 17
and 25, The News will make available an extra float day
for each day of those two weeks. M/S/C: Bonfatti/
Meyer; To approve the Classified settlement.
Old Business:
None.
New Business:
Social chairwoman Haderer said the Guild will sponsor a Bisons baseball game outing on Sunday, June 25 at
2:05 p.m. Tickets are $9. See bulletin boards for details.
M/S/C: All/All; To adjourn at 8:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Ryan, Local Secretary
Executive committee attendance: Meyer, Haderer,
Gormley, Bonfatti, Ouelette, Bob Snyder, Tammy
Turnbull, Donna Ryan.
Tuesday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.
726 Exchange St., Suite 510
Agenda
1. Approve TNG per capita dues increase
2. Approve arbitrations and grievance
settlements
3. Committee reports
Come join the Guild
at a Bisons game
2:05 p.m. Sunday June 25
$9 /ticket
Contact Becky Haderer at
ext. 4523 or rebeckers@adelphia.net
Deadline is Friday, June 9