Here's The Truth About The Detroit Daily Press Suspension

Examiner Detroit

The sudden screeching halt to the latest and most courageous Detroit enterprise has a lot of people talking this weekend, and a lot of that talk is just crap. The entire debacle has local media up in arms - although some of them have bared their arms, much to the public's loss.

Let's call them what they are: behemoth bullies. OK?

I'm talking about the unexpected suspension of the newest area daily newspaper, the Detroit Daily Press. First brainstormed last spring in response to the gutting of local media coverage by the only big games in town, The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, its debut was just this past Monday, November 23rd. By Thursday, the cessation of its printing had both newcomers and veterans buzzing - not to mention the public, who have been yelling for a daily newspaper for months.

A nebulous entry on DDP's Facebook page had even the employees wondering what happened, especially those out chasing stories in the field who weren't in the newsroom for yesterday's noon announcement from publishers, Mark and Gary Stern. It cited problems with distribution, late press runs, lack of advertising and sales, which were "beyond our control."

Apparently what would have provided better control was DDP's own cache of gorillas who could strong-arm the competition, like the competition has been strong-arming them. Can you say "Media Mafia?"

An irrefutable source confirms that the other Detroit print behemoths actually threatened to pull their own papers from retailers such as CVS, if they kept good on their original promise to carry and sell the Detroit Daily Press.

HUH?

Likewise, the same bullies pressured printers to not do business with the Royal Oak-based newspaper, and continually changed any previous agreement to print the DDP. Requirements such as cash up front for that day's work, among other out-there demands were meant to break any original agreement as well as management's back.

"Press runs ran late once, and then two of the other five days, the presses broke down," said the source.

Yeah, well, they ran late one day because THE LIONS WON AT THE VERY LAST SECOND OF SUNDAY'S GAME and everything for the paper's premier copy had to be scrapped and re-arranged. That's the newspaper biz for you.

On the other occasions, DDP's drivers, who have been criticized by the behemoths' bullies for not being union members, didn't wait for the papers.

What does that mean for the public? For one thing, fewer working people.

And, no distributors + an aura of threats = no choice for potential readers who really WANT a daily paper.

Meanwhile, for two weeks, some media couldn't wait to talk crap about the DDP, faulting everything from its dedication to covering what they deem as old news (nice, considering most of the behemoths' writers never even leave the comfort of their desk chairs to chase a story down), to picking apart the new layout and snarking about how employees wouldn't be paid.

Grow UP.

Detroit Daily Press employees expected that type of barrage of sludge from the comp, but overall they thought it would disappear in time, as they earned their chops.

So, here's a question for the morons: If the Detroit Daily Press was so uselessly silly and didn't pose a threat to the Media Mafia - who has had everything tied up for years in an incestuous excuse for news coverage in one of the country's major cities - then why are you working so hard to destroy it, even before it gets on its feet?

Well, guess what, bullies? Detroit Daily Press employees were promptly paid today, and they are waiting on the callback to work in January.

Assuming, of course, that Tony Soprano and his crew can be hired out of retirement to guarantee the safety of someone else with an opinion who can practice freedom of speech in the Motor City.

Detroit's "other" media should be ashamed of itself. You are not harbingers of free speech, but suppressors and oppressors.

And, that's the new news.

Detroit Daily Press Suspends Publication Until 2010

Crain's Detroit Business

The Detroit Daily Press, Detroit's newest daily newspaper, said today it has suspended publication until 2010, citing a lack of advertising, circulation and other problems.

The Press, first unveiled in June and the brainchild of veteran publishing brothers Mark and Gary Stern, was aimed at readers who wanted a meto Detroit newspaper home delivered every day -- taking advantage of displeasure over the decision by the owners of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News to limit home delivery to three and two days, respectively, as a cost-cutting measure.

At a Nov. 13 press conference at the newspaper's Royal Oak office, the Sterns announced that retail sales would begin Nov. 23 and home delivery on Nov. 30.

The Nov. 23 launch was plagued by circulation, delivery and printing problems. CVS, a major distributor, failed to get the Press' bar code information programmed propery, according to Mark Stern, resulting in headaches for buyers.

The Press' official Facebook page had this announcement posted Friday afternoon: "Due to circumstance beyond our control, lack of advertising, lateness of our press runs and lack of distribution and sales, we find it necessary to temporarily suspend publication of the Detroit Daily Press until after the 1st of the year. Once we can fix these things, we plan to be back stronger and more organized when we return. This is just a bump in the road and not the end of the Detroit Daily Press."

An e-mail seeking comment was left for the newspaper's managing editor, Bruce McLaughlan, a former Detroit News editor and veteran auto marketer.

The Press had about 60 employees, including 30 in the newsroom that included a number of veteran journalists from Detroit's two established newspapers.

Media Onlookers Ready To Take Notes On Detroit Daily Press

mLive

When brothers Mark and Gary Stern announced a new daily newspaper in Metro Detroit, it seemed there was only one question on everyone's mind.

"Can it be done?"

Two-newspaper towns were already becoming a thing of nostalgia before the current economic crisis. After the recession, four cities -- Albuquerque, Seattle, Denver and Tuscon -- all saw joint operating agreements dissolve as one of two major papers dissolved.

Still holding onto their JOA, The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press cut operating costs by reducing home delivery to Thursdays and Fridays. This is the Press' selling point; the brothers want to offer a third option delivering three days a week.

Other than potential subscribers, perhaps no one is more curious about this endeavor than journalists and other media analysts -- all wondering if an economically depressed area which already has two papers with declining circulation can support a third.

Here's what's buzzing in the Web about the prospects of the new Detroit Daily Press, which makes its debut on Monday:

"What I think the Daily Press has going for it: It's locally-owned, rather than being a corporate arm. Most dailies were family-owned up through the early 1990s when the vast majority of them were sold to one media conglomerate or another. One of the most maddening pieces about the current newspaper business is how the lack of self-determination harms most publications. Gannett, for example, which owns the Free Press (among many, many others), reported record profits last year. And yet, it continues to order more and more layoffs. This is appalling, and shows what happens when a company with zero stake in the community (Gannett is based near Washington, D.C.) takes control of media with the sole intention of building profit. Not coincidentally, the brothers are both Detroit natives who maintain a residence in the area, though they live mostly in the South." - Anna Clark, blogger at isak.typepad.com.

"It'll be a challenge for them, but a new challenge for the existing dailies. Looks as if there's going to be a lot of competition where we least expected it." - Paul Berton, editor-in-chief, London (Ontario) Free Press.

"I understand the owners have committed two months’ worth of capital to support the project. Even in a good economy, two months of capital is not enough to support a start-up publication. In a declining media market, with few advertising dollars available in the depressed market we have here in Detroit,  it appears destined for failure....Another concern about the health of this endeavor is the lack of buzz, marketing or community-building strategies. The only reason I knew about the new newspaper is because friends of mine where applying for positions with cheap rates and no benefits.  They have only offered a few traditional old school press releases," Rosh Sillars, blogger at newmediaphotographer.com.

"While 7-day-a-week home delivery is an important selling point, it should not be the end-all, be all. As with any medium, “content is king.”  And, with particular reporters geared to focus on the news of particular counties (ala the one-time Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Bureaus of their competition), it would appear they recognize the void in community news holes that currently exists as smaller, hometown papers  publish less, go online or shutter entirely. That, I would argue, is where the prime opportunities for differentiation and “making a difference” lie." - Don Tanner of local PR firm Tanner Friedman.

"I am excited for this new paper in Detroit. It will bring a new fresh look to a landscape often marked with job losses, crime and a horrible football team and desperately needs something or someone to lift its spirits. With all the jobs and people leaving the Detroit area, it is uplifting to see a new business – with 60 new jobs – move into Metro Detroit. Especially because if the Sterns do fill the void left by the News’ and Free Press’s lack of home delivery, they have an excellent chance of being successful and adding a third major paper to the area." - Mike Hoffman, student journalist at Central Michigan Life.

Veteran Publishing Brothers To Start Daily Newspaper In Detroit

AP Story

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Two veteran publishers said Friday they are prepared to launch a daily newspaper serving the Detroit area, where the two largest newspapers have reduced home delivery to survive in a struggling industry.

Brothers Mark and Gary Stern said Friday they'll start publishing the Detroit Daily Press on Nov. 23, selling it for 50 cents daily and $1 on Sundays. Home delivery starts Nov. 30 in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

The paper's 60 full-time employees, many with experience at Detroit newspapers, are using the former offices of The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak, which moved to the offices of sister publication The Macomb Daily.

"We are affordable, both to the advertiser and the reader," Mark Stern told The Associated Press before a news conference.

He said he and his brother called themselves out of retirement when they learned of the Detroit newspapers' plans to scale back home delivery. The brothers also said they seek to start more daily newspapers in other metro areas, focusing on places where papers have shut down or scaled back.

The Sterns ran daily newspapers in Detroit in 1964 and 1967; New York in 1978; and Minneapolis in 1980 when workers at those cities' major newspapers went on strike.

Mark Stern, 64, published weekly dining and entertainment publications for 22 years in Fort Lauderdale, where he now lives. Gary Stern, 67, now lives in the Atlanta area. The Sterns, both Detroit natives, say they will also maintain a residence in the area.

The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press in March reduced home delivery and increased electronic offerings. The idea was to cut printing and distribution costs while retaining full service on the days most popular with print advertisers.

The Sterns said their venture is privately funded but declined to reveal the size of their investment.

They announced plans for the Daily Press in June and hoped to be publishing within 60 days. Getting there was more difficult than they anticipated because of technological hurdles, Mark Stern said.

The Daily Press arrives at a time of broad declines for newspapers. Average daily circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008, according to figures released last month by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The average daily circulation of the Detroit Free Press, which reduced its home delivery to three days a week, declined 9.6 percent to 269,729. Circulation for The Detroit News, which dropped its home delivery to two days, dropped 5.9 percent to 167,849.

Two suburban dailies, The Oakland Press and The Macomb Daily, both saw circulation increases during the period. Their publisher, the Journal Register Co., emerged from bankruptcy protection in August after six months.

The Sterns say they can weather many financial struggles because they don't have overhead costs such as delivery trucks, pension funds or facilities. Advertising and editorial and production employees work for the paper, but not press operators or many in circulation. The Sterns have said they need 150,000 to break even and on Friday said they aim for 100,000 home-delivered copies and 100,000 in single-copy sales.