Monday, May 18, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
New York Time's Guild prevents the Boston Globe from going under
(AP) - The Boston Globe and its largest employees union reached a tentative agreement early Wednesday morning on concessions that will keep the 137-year-old newspaper publishing, the union president said.
The breakthrough came at about 4 a.m., said Dan Totten, president of the Newspaper Guild. He did not release details pending a meeting with Guild members scheduled for Thursday.
"Out of respect for our members, the Guild and the New York Times Co. have agreed not to release details until Guild leaders have a chance to meet with our members," Mr. Totten said.
Globe spokesman Robert Powers said in a statement that details would not be released until Thursday. The Guild represents about 700 editorial, business and advertising staff.
The company had set a deadline of midnight Sunday to reach an agreement with its unions to make $20 million in cuts or close the Boston Globe. The Times Co. struck agreements with six of seven unions before the deadline, but even though talks with the Guild stalled, management backed off its threat to file a notice required by federal law to begin the process of shutting down the newspaper.
The two sides resumed talks Tuesday evening at a location outside Boston.
The Globe had proposed to slash wages by 23% to gain concessions of $10 million and keep the financially-strapped newspaper from closing.
The Guild has offered a 3.5% pay cut, plus three unpaid furlough days, for a total salary reduction of just under 5%. It said its offer represents more than the $10 million in concessions sought.
The Times Co. also sought to change its lifetime job guarantees, a key sticking point. At least one of the smaller unions agreed to changes in the guarantees for its members, but the Guild resisted giving up the guarantees.
Nearly 470 employees across six unions have the guarantees, including about 190 Newspaper Guild members. Most got the promises in a contract ratified in 1994, shortly after the Times Co. bought the Globe for $1.1 billion, in exchange for other concessions at the time. Workers can still be fired for cause, but the newspaper says the guarantees reduce its ability to pare its operational structure.
The Times Co., which overall lost $74.5 million in the first quarter, has said that of all its newspaper properties, the Globe has been the most dramatically affected by the recession, the advertising downturn and the migration of readers online. The Globe had $50 million in operating losses in 2008 and is projected to lose $85 million this year.
©Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The breakthrough came at about 4 a.m., said Dan Totten, president of the Newspaper Guild. He did not release details pending a meeting with Guild members scheduled for Thursday.
"Out of respect for our members, the Guild and the New York Times Co. have agreed not to release details until Guild leaders have a chance to meet with our members," Mr. Totten said.
Globe spokesman Robert Powers said in a statement that details would not be released until Thursday. The Guild represents about 700 editorial, business and advertising staff.
The company had set a deadline of midnight Sunday to reach an agreement with its unions to make $20 million in cuts or close the Boston Globe. The Times Co. struck agreements with six of seven unions before the deadline, but even though talks with the Guild stalled, management backed off its threat to file a notice required by federal law to begin the process of shutting down the newspaper.
The two sides resumed talks Tuesday evening at a location outside Boston.
The Globe had proposed to slash wages by 23% to gain concessions of $10 million and keep the financially-strapped newspaper from closing.
The Guild has offered a 3.5% pay cut, plus three unpaid furlough days, for a total salary reduction of just under 5%. It said its offer represents more than the $10 million in concessions sought.
The Times Co. also sought to change its lifetime job guarantees, a key sticking point. At least one of the smaller unions agreed to changes in the guarantees for its members, but the Guild resisted giving up the guarantees.
Nearly 470 employees across six unions have the guarantees, including about 190 Newspaper Guild members. Most got the promises in a contract ratified in 1994, shortly after the Times Co. bought the Globe for $1.1 billion, in exchange for other concessions at the time. Workers can still be fired for cause, but the newspaper says the guarantees reduce its ability to pare its operational structure.
The Times Co., which overall lost $74.5 million in the first quarter, has said that of all its newspaper properties, the Globe has been the most dramatically affected by the recession, the advertising downturn and the migration of readers online. The Globe had $50 million in operating losses in 2008 and is projected to lose $85 million this year.
©Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
50 Cent & Rick Ross Beef makes Billboard, but most importanly they mention THE LIFEFILES
“We’re going to act like we didn’t hear that,” an unimpressed Ross said during a radio show interview about the comeback. “We gonna give him 48 hours to come up with another one.”
A few days later, 50 posted another video, which warned, “There’s nobody in control of me. I do what I want to do. Rick Ross, I’m-a fuck your life up, for fun. You’re gonna really understand how resourceful I am.”
At the beginning of February, Ross released the video for “Mafia Music,” in which he flaunts his mansion, cars, jewelry and handgun, among other things; he also put out another diss track, “Kiss My Pinky Ring.”
Despite the apparent animosity behind the feud, Ross says “Deeper Than Rap” isn’t an angry album. Other tracks include the reggae-tinged “Yacht Club”; “Lay Back,” with vocals from Robin Thicke; and “Bossy Lady,” which features Ne-Yo and may be the third single.
While IDJ’s Atlas says the beef may help sales, he isn’t relying on it to promote “Deeper Than Rap.” A strong viral campaign featuring videos of Ross doing everything from recording a track in the studio to sending direct messages to fans has also taken off on Ross’ site, DeepInTheRap.com, bolstering the banner ad campaigns on other sites like WorldStarHipHop.com, AllHipHop.com and TheLifeFiles.com, among others.
To hear Ross talk, it sounds as though the video for “Cold Blood” just metaphorically buried 50 himself—not their feud. “Money doesn’t make me—I make the money,” he says. “That applies to my opposition. If you rely on your money, you’re engaging in something that won’t work. If you aren’t making music that people want to hear or are in the streets with the people, you’re going to run out of things to do. Cartoons can only take you so far.”
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