Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 20, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 15 © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 NEOPERL, Inc., 171 Mattatuck Heights Rd, Waterbury, CT 06705 | 10,000 sq. ft. Quality Renovations by Borghesi Building www.borghesibuilding.com Contact us at 860-482-7613 or visit us on the web. Seeking to backfill some lost advertising revenue and leverage an increased reliance on their news, some outlets are asking their exist- ing audiences for more support For example, The Day has launched a fundraiser that has netted more than $10,000. The paper is using a relatively nov- el strategy offered by the Local Media Association that allows for-profits to receive tax-deductible giving, using a foundation as an intermediary. Matt DiRienzo, formerly Hearst Connecticut's top editor and now a consultant for LMA, said COVID-19 — perhaps the single biggest threat ever to the future of local journalism — has also proven the societal value of the trade. "Readership is way up because lit- erally it's a life or death situation for your readers to have the info you're providing," DiRienzo said. "It is the right time to ask for help." Length matters While industries across the board have been paralyzed by the pandem- ic, many news organizations entered the current crisis still weakened from the last recession — Connecti- cut's news sector has fewer than half the reporting jobs it did in 2006, ac- cording to U.S. Census Bureau data. Stimulus funds will buy employers some time, said HBJ Publisher Joe Zwiebel, who has kept all staff working while the media orga- nization awaits stimulus funds. How things look after the money is spent is anybody's guess. "What we know is we're go- ing to need our people," Zwiebel said. "We need them now and we'll certainly need them when we come out the other end of this." The global pandemic is so far- reaching and unprecedented that no one can confidently predict whether the bounceback will be rapid or pro- longed, like the recovery from the last recession. "There's definitely some trauma that's going to ripple through the media ecosystem," said Rich Hanley, a Quinni- piac University journalism professor. Advertising tends to slow down for some news outlets in the summer months as it is, so the timing of the outbreak and recovery could add additional difficulties. And if COV- ID-19 is not cor- ralled quickly, or returns in the fall, the economic fallout could be severe, Hanley said. "If we get into that period and the pullback is persistent and the presiden- tial campaign advertising isn't enough for tradi- tional media, I think companies will see some serious casualties," he said. Pivot, respond to sudden challenge So far, Connecticut has seen several news outlets take swift action to re- spond to anticipated revenue declines. Fox 61 parent Tegna Inc., which acquired the station last year as part of a $740-million purchase of multiple outlets, announced April 6 that most of its employees would be required to take one-week furloughs before the end of June, while higher- ups would see pay cuts of 8% to 20%. Days later, citing revenue declines, Hartford Courant parent Tribune Publishing announced permanent pay cuts of up to 10% for certain non- union employees, and 4.5% pay cuts for organized workers, said Lurye, chair of the Hartford Courant Guild. Andrew Julien, the Courant's pub- lisher and editor-in-chief, and a Tri- bune spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Others have decided to wait out the pandemic, or at least move away from print temporarily. The Observers' chain of weeklies, which serve Bristol, Plainville, and Southington, announced in late March they would close up shop for the remainder of the crisis. The Newtown Bee announced in early April that it would cease publish- ing its weekly print issues for the time being, shifting to online coverage only. The Hartford Business Journal shifted its biweekly print editions to digital-only versions until at least early June. That marks the first time HBJ has missed a scheduled print Continued on page 16 >> Great Recession took deep bite out of CT news media The number of Connecticut reporters and corre- spondents who write and report for newspapers, radio and television, has fallen sharply since the last recession. Year CT reporters 2006 650 2019 250 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Looking to create a custom publication? Let us take care of it for you. Whether it's the celebration of a major anniversary or the opening of a new headquarters, Hartford Business Journal's Custom Publishing Division can help you create a custom magazine for your business. Our division's top fl ight team of writers and designers can help you tell your story – and make your business look great! BASED ON OUR UNIQUE PUBLISHING MODEL, IT'S SURPRISINGLY AFFORDABLE. SURPRISINGLY AFFORDABLE. CONTACT US TODAY! ADVERTISING@ HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/ INFO/CUSTOM-PUBLISHING 860.236.9998

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