In many ways, newspapers are in the gray zone of information delivery. If we want a quick summary of an event, we go to television where the soundbite rules, and if we want something in-depth we go to the internet where there are no time or space constraints. In response, newspapers have tried to move to one extreme or the other. USA Today [aka "McPaper"] is a prime example of the newspaper medium moving towards the soundbite model of news delivery.

The comments you noted above clearly mean the H-S has decided to also go with the soundbite model and leave the in-depth coverage to the Independent. Whether the two newspapers will provide a good contrast remains to be seen.

Way to bury the lede there Bob. Takes 12 graphs before you get to the news: They've fired more people.

It's sad, to me, that an editor would with straight face attempt to deliver a variation of the tired theme "We'll do more with less." His job is supposed to be about telling the truth.

Even if they do manage to "produce more local stories" as the editor expects, one has to question the quality or usefulness of those stories.

The move to elminate jobs is no surprise though. Paxton laid off several people at its "flagship" Kentucky properties two weeks ago:
http://www.wkyx.com/local-news-details.asp?NewsID=6545

Kevin, I'm not sure "less-length, more-info" translates into a desire to save paper and ink costs. If they're looking at it for that reason, they're way off target. I think it's a desire to have the appearance of abundant local news, while carrying a much smaller staff and payroll.

If they wanted to save paper and ink they probably would have killed the standalone business section, reduced newshole and gone to a smaller web width. Many newspapers have gone to smaller width printing, meaning a narrower paper.

I would have much preferred they go to a smaller paper size to save money while carrying a larger news staff. I'd rather have a quality local news report than a bunch of wire stuff.

Agreed Wes. The Herald Sun is a fleeting operation. It's sad but true. Certainly part of its decline is no different than the rest of the industry, but the H-S has itself to blame too. I'd still be a subscriber (as would several of my friends) if there wasn't as much overwhelming support by Mr. Ashley (et al) for John McCann, mediocre columnist, and outspoken homophobe....

Myers Sugg

The Herald-Sun having been founded by the Rollins family, I am of course sorry to see it sink to such depths. I should add that their behavior during the lacrosse hoax was deplorable, and rightly recognized as such by a lot of the demographic the H-S would so dearly love to keep as subscribers. It's no wonder the duke student body voted to switch to the N&O.

Not all of the blame can be lain at the feet of Bob Ashley -- just most of it. Watching the H-S slowly being strangled by Paxton has become an amusing if bittersweet experience for those of my relatives who had an interest in the paper. At least it didn't happen on our watch.

I would hate for the Raleigh N&O to be the only newspaper covering Durham. To me, many of their Durham centric articles have a condescending tone or tend to highlight a negative aspect about Durham. The Durham News is a appeasing effort but it’s mainly seen by Durhamites and is not what they tell the rest of the world about your city.

If the Herald – Sun is failing, I would suggest Durhamites help support it, change it or create an alternative. Don’t lose your local voice, especially to the rah rah Raleigh rag.

IMO they need to switch to a broadsheet format (e.g., the NY Post). More pictures, less news, and "edgier".

The future of midmarket dailies is free distribution in those cities with a decent mass transit system. Durham will be there in about 20 years, and hopefully the H-S can hang on until then.

Thanks, guess I'm still jetlagged. Good thing I didn't go into the newspaper biz. :-)

Obviously, I made a typo in the preceding post, inserting an extra zero in one of the numbers. The March Herald-Sun circulation as reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulation was about 32,800 and not 32,8000. Wouldn't it be nice if Paxton corrected its misstatements (or deliberate attempts at deception) this quickly? The bottom line is simple: the company overstated its circulation by more than 5,000 and never bothered even to acknowledge the error, much less correct it.

Paxton and Co. could not have screwed things up any worse if they'd had a blueprint. They paid far too much for The Herald-Sun, promptly canned its most talented staffers and gutted its locally produced content under the mistaken belief that Durham readers would be too stupid to divine that their "improved" newspaper had in fact been eviscerated. Mix in the current recession and the drain of ad revenue to the likes of Google and Craigslist, and it's conceivable The Herald-Sun might not last the decade.

David -- from which branch of the Rollins tree do you hail? I remember Steed and Amy (Steed Rollins' adopted children) and Tyler and Lawson (ET's boys).