Seattle Times also troubled

It’s no secret that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s print days will come to an end this week. The news for the paper’s cross town rival, The Seattle Times, isn’t that much better.

According to an economist employed by the Joint Council of Teamsters No. 28 and given to the members of the Unity Council of Seattle Times Unions, the financial situation for the Times is also bad.

“The Times’ current cost containment program has attempted to reduce some of the financial pressures, but its current financial status is still serious,” said Doug Henderson, who reviewed income summary statements from the Times for the fiscal years 2005 through 2008, and the projections for years 2009 to 2012. “The Company needs to consider either selling off some operations or shutter some. However, with the economic climate being in utter chaos the opportunity to sell any type of operation is very slim.”

The unions at The Times will meet Monday with the company’s management to discuss concessions to help the cash-strapped newspaper. The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, which represents editorial, production and support staff at The Times, already voted late last week to approve a two-year pension freeze.

The Times’ unions include the International Brotherhood of Electricians Local 46; the International Brotherhood of Machinists Local 79, District 160; the Guild; Teamsters Local 174; Teamsters Local 763 and Teamsters Local 767M.

The Associated Press quoted Alan Mutter, a former newspaper editor and Silicon Valley chief executive who writes the Reflections of a Newsosaur blog, on Friday as saying “The Seattle P-I may be going out of business, but the Times is an equally troubled company, and possibly even more troubled.”

The AP article concludes that “[o]f all the big cities that have lost or are in danger of losing newspapers – Denver and San Francisco, among others – none is as likely as Seattle to find itself without a printed daily newspaper.”

Jill Mackie, a Seattle Times spokesperson, is quotes as saying: “Are we certain we're going to get through this time? I think Frank would say we're not certain.”

Eek!