Newspaper Reductions Prompt Class Action
by CTNewsjunkie Staff | July 2, 2008 3:33 PM
Posted to Media Matters
Courthouse News Service is reporting that a former newspaper reporter-turned-attorney filed a class action lawsuit against his local newspaper in North Carolina alleging that its June 17 announcement of staff layoffs and content reductions will deliver an “inferior product” to subscribers like him.
Keith Hempstead, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit against The News & Observer owned by the McClatchy newspaper chain, claims he renewed his subscription to the paper prior to the announcements of the layoffs and has not been offered a refund. He says he would not have renewed his subscription if he knew about the layoffs and content reductions, including the elimination of a section that covers his hometown.
No word yet on whether anyone is following Hempstead’s example in Connecticut, where the Hartford Courant announced last week that it plans to cut its newsroom staff by 53 employees this July and reduce its paper size from 273 pages per week to 206 by September.
Comments (6)
Posted by: Mike from Norwich![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| July 2, 2008 4:59 PM
The time has come to challenge the stock companies that own these media conglomerates. A sustainable income is not good enough for them. They have to make huge profits. The story of the LA Times comes to mind. New FLASH::: Somethings should not be run as a wall street business. We (those of us that lived during the 1980s, you know where we learned that "money talks) need to get over the fact that while some business practices are good, making a 20% profit for a newspaper that provides a "SERVICE" to the community is not going to happen. The Hartford Courant is currently going through this same process. We need to look at newspapers a public trust. That is the way they use to be run!!!. If a newspaper makes enough money to keep their payroll and sustain their business is that bad??? Why do the stockholders, who are by and far the most narrow-minded people in this area, think that they are going to make such a profit. There is more to a news service than just the bottom line. And as more newspapers fold, no pun intended, the public loses a valuable resource.
Posted by: lothar | July 3, 2008 12:00 AM
mike's right... newspapers - like insurance companies and doctors - should be nonprofit.
Posted by: shawn121![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| July 3, 2008 7:34 AM
Hi,
I am new to this site and i don't think this details is enough to give a comment so please give some more details to give a proper comment.
=================
shawn
Addiction Recovery Connecticut
Posted by: Matt from CT | July 3, 2008 10:37 AM
Run like a public trust like they used to be?
You mean the days of "You provide the reporting, I'll provide the war?"
Very, very few papers ever adopted the public trust model. Most have always been for profit entities.
If you don't like how much money they make, start a newspaper yourself and sell advertising and subscriptions for less since you're willing to make less profit. Problem solved.
Posted by: christine | July 3, 2008 1:43 PM
Shawn,
Click thru the links and you will be able to see a pdf version of the lawsuit. It was just filed so there's little more information available at this time.
~Christine
Posted by: Edward_H | July 4, 2008 12:12 PM
Did this guy ask for a refund before filing this lawsuit?