Wichita Eagle

[wu_shizzle]

Printed papers are buggy whips in the age of the Model T.

You can get mad about it, but if having a locally printed copy of the news is so important, there's always "Control-P".

[pinstripers]

Outsourcing. Everybody does it.

[Eric]

Old farts were the only ones with print subscriptions. It was bound to happen when enough of them died or moved into nursing homes.

Now listen here you contrary lil sumbitch! Us old farts like what we like! Hahaha

[WstateU]

Old farts were the only ones with print subscriptions. It was bound to happen when enough of them died or moved into nursing homes.

Now listen here you contrary lil sumbitch! Us old farts like what we like! Hahaha

[Veritas]

Consolidation of operations and elimination of jobs has occurred in dozens of markets. If you are looking for a specific cite referencing a move of a tiny fraction of the existing work force to a nearby nerve center to continue the death rattle for a few more years, that would be an obtuse request. Myopic, you could even say.

Corporate America generally isn't afraid to apply the screws to the little guy, but this is simply a dying industry making desperate moves to prolong its obituary for a few more years.

Your intent to use words without relevance in this discussion does not in any way give credence to your position. My specific question for you to provide examples of print media moving their print and packaging operation to other markets in order to provide consolidation has not been answered. General corporate consolidation is not the topic of discussion.

However, here is an interesting story which may be an indicator of the future of the Wichita Eagle. As I wrote earlier, there may be a day when real time Wichita news (and sports reporting) could be negatively impacted or eliminated.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/07/newsonomics-do-newspaper-companies-have-a-strategy-beyond-milking-papers-for-profit/

[shockmonster]

I agree with Veritas. This could mean disaster for medium to large size communities. It used to be that KAKE and The Eagle were owned by community members who had a stake in the community. Now large conglomerates bought them up and just like Pizza Hut, Coleman, and Boeing, Capitalism and what is in the interest for a community, doesn't always work together. When the company owner lives in New York, Washington DC, or Dallas, Wichita and Central Kansas doesn't really matter.

[Triticum]

What's happening to the presses? Sold and moved? Scrapped? Some cities still print entertainment guides, independent news, and local opinion pieces as a tabloid.

[Rixtoy1]

If there is a villain (there is not) it is technology.
I grew up in a newspaper composing room as my dad was a linotype operator his entire life, until computers eliminated that job. Hutchinson had a morning AND evening paper when I was growing up because it was the ONLY form of news other than local radio and evening news on national TV. Remember when there were two competing newspapers in Wichita? Morning and evening?

Hutchinson had two bread bakeries, two milk dairies and three soft drink bottling companies because there were no computers to manage the ordering, production and accounting of the sale - all done by paper.
Look at the entire professions disappearing because people now have access to the purchase information and the transaction on the internet - there was a time when the only way you could access airline flight information and purchase a ticket was through a travel agent - now virtually gone as an industry. Similar thing happening to stock brokers - the information and transaction are at our fingertips.

Doesn't surprise me about the Eagle. The only reason I get it is for Shocker coverage, obituaries and puzzles on Sunday - all of which I could get elsewhere when I am ready.

I wonder how long a city the size of Wichita can support three local TV stations - no value add in sports or weather, really. I expect it will drop to two in the coming years.

I am old enough that I don't understand Hulu and other apps for television, but the guys in their 30's that work for me tell me TV will be extinct some day. Kind of glad I will be extinct first.

[SPEShockAlum]

I've thought about contacting Warren Buffett's office to see if he'll buy the paper from McClatchey. The dude loves him some newspapers and I'm sure they (McClatchey) could use the cash.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

My specific question for you to provide examples of print media moving their print and packaging operation to other markets in order to provide consolidation has not been answered.

I don't want to speak for Play Angry, but your question does need to be answered. Consolidation of printing has been a trend in recent years at newspapers around the country. The Eagle article that was referred to in the original post (but not linked) said the KC Star already prints the Lawrence and Topeka newspapers. I can't find the link for the Eagle article, but here's the KC Star version: https://www.kansascity.com/news/busi...e66027227.html

Here in Colorado, the Colorado Springs Gazette is printed by the Denver Post. It happens in bigger markets too. A few years ago, the Chicago Sun-Times and a bunch of Chicago suburban papers closed their plants and consolidated with the Chicago Tribune's printing operations. Here's a listing of some of the newspapers that have consolidated printing with other newspapers: www.newsandtech.com/stats/plant_closings.html

I only know this because I work with a guy who was laid off by the Denver Post awhile back, and we had an interesting lunch conversation a few weeks ago about the state of the newspaper industry.

[WstateU]

Even us 'older farts' aren't reading the newspaper like we have in the past. The newspaper industry reminds me of the demise of Route 66.

[SHOCKvalue]

Many of the articles written by the Eagle today sound more like a cross-breed between traditional unbiased news reporting, and an opinion or editorial piece. I don't care enough to keep a log of such instances, but a good number of times over the past months I have read articles and been struck by a patently clear bias, to include speculation personal to the writer. When this starts to happen you essentially "throw the baby out with the bath water" and mentally write them off as source of mainline news.

[Aargh]

McClatchy owns both the KC Star and the Eagle, so using only one print plant in this area makes sense.

[AndShock]

Many of the articles written by the Eagle today sound more like a cross-breed between traditional unbiased news reporting, and an opinion or editorial piece. I don't care enough to keep a log of such instances, but a good number of times over the past months I have read articles and been struck by a patently clear bias, to include speculation personal to the writer. When this starts to happen you essentially "throw the baby out with the bath water" and mentally write them off as source of mainline news.

I think every local news outlet showed where they stand when they ignored a certain arrest last September.

[Veritas]

McClatchy owns both the KC Star and the Eagle, so using only one print plant in this area makes sense.

According to the article, the decision was painstaking which leads me to
believe there was enough counter points to keep the print/packaging in Wichita.
Additionally, it's not as if the printing press needed to be replaced or that there were complaints on the quality of print. Thus the Eagle is laying off personnel in Wichita.

What happens to delivery costs? Will that be reflected in a new rate?
What happens when McClatchy sells? Will the Eagle need to scramble to purchase a new printing machine?
Why not move all reporters to KC or consolidate?


As the Harvard Think Tank points out, print media may become extinct in alot of markets due to squeezing out profits. If McClatchey moves more than Print/Packaging to KC, we could see the Eagle become extinct both from a print/packaging as well as a reporting perspective.