Yesterday, BuffaloPundit posted Warren Buffett’s less-than-enthusiastic assessment of the American newspaper industry, offered during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting:

“For most newspapers in the United States, we would not buy them at any price…they have the possibility of going to just unending losses.”

The Buffalo News, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, neglected to include that comment in its account of its parent company’s annual meeting.

Today, however, the News managed to dig up and publish these comments from Buffett, his right-hand man Charles Munger, and his billionaire friend Bill Gates:

The ailing newspaper business got an endorsement Monday from three of the wealthiest men in America—Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and Charles Munger, and Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates—as they talked business in Omaha with anchor Liz Claman on Fox Business News.

After Claman noted that Berkshire Hathaway has “a significant position in newspapers”—The Buffalo News and The Washington Post—and that this is “not an expanding and growth sector now,” it was Munger who first stepped forward in defense.

“We have this system where we have some investments that we don’t discard them because they’re declining,” Munger explained. “We have some things that we’re faithful to, that we’re married to, so to speak.”

And it was Gates who offered the best perspective on the Berkshire Hathaway newspaper holdings, acknowledging the many areas The Washington Post has entered and noting that “The Buffalo News has handled the challenges, working with their unions, and figured out how to move forward as well as any newspaper company.”

Most likely, Buffett recognized that it was in his best interest to temper what he’d said about newspapers over the weekend, given his stake in thr Washington Post and his ownership of the News.

But why did the Buffalo News choose to strip these remarks of their context by failing to acknowledge the gloomy prognosis Buffett offered over the weekend?

http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/661374.html

Click here for a copy of the three-page report from the State Education Department to Buffalo School District General Counsel Michael J. Looby, dated March 31, 2009, which is written about in today’s Buffalo News. The report is a response to a school board request that the state investigate alleged leaks from board members to Buffalo News reporter Mark Sommer, regarding remarks made during an alleged executive session that took place on January 29, 2008.

Evidence does not support the claim that it was a properly convened executive session in the first place, not to mention the fact that Hon. James A. McLeod and Hon. Craig T. Hannah resigned (on April 15, 2008) from the ethics committee that conducted the ethics investigation—the day after it was pointed out by Artvoice that they were serving in that capacity in violation of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.

Note that the school board is so concerned with controlling information that the first two paragraphs of the state report deal with board president Mary Ruth Kapsiak’s failure to include essential evidence to the SED when she requested an investigation back on April 25, 2008, and again on November 20, 2008. The State Education Department did not even receive the evidence supporting the board’s request for an investigation until February 10, 2009.

Once they were provided the information, it only took 49 days for the legal counsel of the State Education Department to offer a determination that “reflects only the practical difficulties inherent in conclusively proving the alleged violations of law, and not vindication of the handling of this matter by either the Board or Williams.”

Imagine the good that could be done for the schoolchildren of Buffalo if the superintendent and school board spent more time thinking about them than they do thinking about their travel itineraries and legal strategies?

The New York Times featured another article by Nicolai Ouroussoff, pointing to Buffalo as perhaps “the most intriguing test case for reimagining our failing cities.” Ouroussoff laments the Department of Homeland Security plan that “would require the demolition of five and a half blocks in a diverse working-class neighborhood with a rich architectural history, from late-19th-century Italianate mansions to modest two-family homes built in the 1920s.”

Meanwhile, yesterday’s Buffalo News ran a story quoting Clarence Republican Chris Lee on the issue: “We’re beating a dead horse here,” he said. “We need to focus on the project at hand, which is to get a new Peace Bridge built.” Buffalo Democrat Brian Higgins also chimes in on the issue: “Western New York residents and businesses are sick of studies and setbacks, they just want to see a bridge built. This is a move in the wrong direction.”

Meanwhile, Representative Louise Slaughter says, “Shared border management not only presents the best possible solution to the security and legal issues facing a new Peace Bridge plaza, but also prevents the residents of the historic Peace Bridge neighborhood from being displaced.”

Which begs the question: Is Louise Slaughter the only local politician who reads the New York Times?

Buffalo News publisher Stan Lipsey

On Friday I read with some foreboding that Denver’s venerable daily, the Rocky Mountain News (est. April 23, 1859) had folded. That same day, Buffalo News publisher Stan Lipsey sent this memo to Buffalo News staffer:

From: News Publisher Stan Lipsey
To: All News Employees
Re: Reducing expenses at The News

I’m sorry to report that, since our meetings with employees last month,  the economic picture at The News has worsened. And now, with large metropolitan papers around the nation declaring bankruptcy or going out of business, we feel we need to act quickly.

In an effort to stabilize The News’ economics, the executive team has been working diligently to reduce costs. This is absolutely necessary in order to balance the significant reduction in advertising and circulation revenue we are experiencing.  February will be the fourth consecutive month in which the company has struggled with profitability.

Those cost reductions will take many forms, but one of them, unfortunately, is the likelihood of layoffs. Today we have detailed 52 layoffs among Buffalo Newspaper Guild employees – 33 in circulation, eight in editorial, eight in classified advertising, two in accounting and one in marketing/NIE.  These layoffs may be mitigated by successful discussions between the company and the Guild, which are expected to begin Monday.  In addition, approximately 26 News employees (not all in the Guild) have accepted the current buyout offer, which has been extended until next Friday for the Guild.

Among other cost-cutting measures are a wage freeze among non-union employees, reductions in newsprint usage through the redesign of such products as TV Topics and NeXt, and the moving of Niagara Bureau personnel in to the main newsroom.  All of these new measures, and others, follow several years of efforts to reduce costs; unfortunately, those efforts have fallen short of what is necessary.

We know that we share with you the crucial aim of keeping The Buffalo News and its mission viable as we reinvent the company amidst changing times. We ask for your help, understanding and cooperation in the weeks ahead. We will be successful if we all work together.

Last fall, about a dozen of 110 employees offered buyouts (none of them in editorial) accepted them, according to a Buffalo News report last month on its own troubles. In January, the News approached 300 more employees with buyout offers of $60,000 or more. The News has about 820 employees, according to the same report.

UPDATE: The Guild has just released a response to Lipsey’s memo:

The Buffalo Newspaper Guild is extremely disappointed that Publisher Stan Lipsey would send out a memo regarding potential layoffs before the Guild has had the opportunity to work with managers to avoid these losses.

News executives would be better served working together with the union on cost-cutting alternatives that could reduce, if not eliminate, the layoff numbers. Our bargaining agreement requires both sides to discuss feasible alternatives before staff reductions are implemented.

The Guild has had a long history of saving The News money over the years. We will be working tirelessly in the coming days to do everything possible to secure both the future of The News and the livelihood of employees who have given so much to this company and this community.

The Buffalo Newspaper Guild is the largest union at The News, representing nearly 300 employees, including the newsroom, classified advertising, circulation, customer service and accounting and bookkeeping.

After the jump you can read the text of the notice of complaint Syaed Ali’s lawyers filed on December 10.

But before you do: I like to give credit to the Buffalo News when a story therein inspires me to write something, so let me give a nod to Brian Meyer’s piece in today’s local section on the Syaed Ali case: His piece inspired me to be aggravated again that News reporters never credit other news outlets (or at least not AV) when they use our reporting. We published this story online a week ago and in print yesterday.

It’s utterly graceless and petty, whether it comes from the reporters or the editors.

(more…)

Here’s something that drives me crazy about the Buffalo News: the “Another Voice” column on the editorial page. It would be a nice idea, except that so often it is not given over to “another” voice. It is given, rather, to the same old voices: to people who are frequently quoted as sources in articles, who are in positions of political or economic power, to folks whose job is to push agendas—to people, in other words, who have no difficulty making their voices heard.

Today’s “Another Voice” column is by Ron Rienas, general manager of the Public Bridge Authority. None of the evasions he offers here are new, nor has Rienas lacked opportunity to make them in a public forum. He has been quoted in at least 40 Buffalo News articles in the past year. He wrote another “Another Voice” column in January.

In the past two months, the column’s authors have included incoming State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, who earns headlines somewhere in that state nearly every day; Tom Golisano, who can order up a microphone and reporter whenever he needs one; Erie County Legislator Maria Whyte, with whose column I agree but who already  has occasion to speak with reporters weekly; UB President John Simpson, stumping for the UB 2020 plan that is frequently the subject of articles in the news pages; Erie County Executive Chris Collins, also no stranger to headlines; and outgoing Congressman Tom Reynolds, who, it is true, has not been much in the limelight in the past two years.

And Rienas’ column today is a response to a recent “Another Voice” piece by attorney David Colligan, chairman of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. I agree with much of what Colligan says in that piece, but he’s another guy who hardly lacks opportunity to speak his mind: He is quoted in the pages of the Buffalo News about once a month, sometimes more often than that.

In between these privileged perspectives, the column frequently comprises articles by the mouthpieces for lobbying or special interest groups. It would be nice, I think, if “Another Voice” were afforded solely to those who are invisible in the news media, underrepresented in government, underserved by our institutions and economy.

These new signs properly label the structure.

We’ve been reading recent stories in the Buffalo News about sportswriter Tom Borrelli’s terrible fall last week at the old All High Stadium. He’s currently battling life-threatening injuries. The News has fittingly started a blog where people can express their concern, and offer their wishes for a full recovery. The story has also been covered by the Tonawanda News, in the city where Borrelli resides.

One thing that was drilled into me as a stringer writing concert reviews for the Buffalo News several years back was the importance of correctly identifying the venue where the event took place. We all know that naming rights for stadiums are a huge deal these days, and people get upset when their stadium is improperly identified. So, it’s puzzling that the location where Borrelli suffered his injury has not been accurately named in any of the media reports filed by either paper. For the record, Borrelli suffered his fall on the antiquated stairs leading to the press box at Robert Rich Sr. All High Stadium, which underwent major renovations a couple of years ago. I remembered this name change because it was explained to me by Buffalo Public Schools spokesperson Stefan Mychajliw when I was researching a story about the Buffalo Public Schools Foundation earlier this year. Many of the late Buffalo businessman’s friends contributed to the BPSF after his death.

In that story, I listed the major donors to this private 501c3 organization. Here is their tax return for 2006, and here is their return for 2007—which was unavailable at the time I wrote the story. If you scroll to the end, you’ll see the list of donors for both years. The bulk of the money has been spent on uniforms and staff retreats. Page two of the 2007 return indicates that $15,000 was spent on a new scoreboard at the stadium where Borrelli fell. There’s no telling how much the Foundation has raised this year, but they’re clearly sitting on a substantial chunk of change.

Here’s a rundown of all the improvements that were planned for the structure. With that in mind, how disheartening is it to read that improvements to the press box, and the stairs leading to it, were scrapped due to cost?

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UPDATE 11/20/08

After learning of Borrelli’s death this morning, I called Stefan Mychajliw and left a message asking about the stairs and press box at the stadium. Minutes later, I received this official statement from the Buffalo Public Schools.

Those of us who were lucky enough to count Buffalo News writer Jay Bonfatti as a friend suffered a wicked shock last week when he passed away in his sleep while visiting with family on Martha’s Vineyard. He was only 52. The grief has been profound and widespread. Hundreds have expressed their sadness and many more are expected to attend a memorial for him this Saturday, September 6, at the Lafayette Tap Room, from 1-4pm.

Leave it to Jay, the Italian from Boston, to be the man of honor at what promises to be one of the best Irish wakes in Buffalo history.

It will be an eclectic crowd, because Jay knew and touched people from all walks of life. Members of his family are expected to travel from Massachusetts to be at the event.

There will also be great food and music, and a lot of beautiful stories told about a hilarious, compassionate, irreplaceable guy who really made everyone’s life that much sunnier.

He remains, as he was in life, a catalyst.

• AFSCME Local 264 plans to protest outside of Mayor Byron Brown’s fundraiser today at Kleinhans at 4pm. Check it out.
•  News continues to be generated by the October 2006 storm. In Snyder, lawyer Jim Duggan got a court order from State Supreme Court Judge Makowski calling for a halt in the removal of storm-damaged trees on three streets there. The Town of Amherst had ok’d the removal of 44 80-year-old silver maples on Burroughs Drive, Duggan’s street of residence, at the beginning of the week. Contractors began cutting them down on Tuesday, escorted by Erie County Sheriff’s deputies “for the crews’ safety.” Now the two parties will have to work out in court…
• Additionally, the folks at Carvings for a Cause are now offering smaller pieces of art for sale. Items made by local woodworkers from the trees felled after the storm,  including bowls, vases, and cutting boards, will now be for sale.
• The Brookings Institution released a supplemental report yesterday showing that Buffalo could receive between $600 million and $1.1 billion in economic benefits if the Federal government were to fully adopt the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) Restoration Strategy. Read the report (it’s only three pages long, for Christ’s sake!) here:
  

  Brookings’s Great Lakes supplemental report

• The Feds raided a Cheektowaga Mexican restaurant—El Caporal—yesterday, which is owned, they say, by an undocumented Mexican alien. Simon Banda allegedly paid for workers to be smuggled acorss the border to work here and in six other restaurants he owns regionally.

• Heavyweight boxer “Baby Joe” Mesi is running for Mary Lou Rath’s (R-Williamsville) soon-to-be vacant State Senate seat, making him the fourth Democratic contender in that race. Mesi, whose experience doesn’t extend much beyond the boxing ring, said he will give up his fighting career to become a public servant. The other three contenders are perennial candidate Dan Ward, Erie County Legislator Michele Ianello and Amherst Council member Mark Manna. So far, no Republican candidates have been announced in the race. It’s an important seat for both parties, as the Republican party holds only a single seat majority in the Senate.
• Henry Littles, manager of BMHA’s Marine Drive Apartments, can’t manage his own houses. Littles, who owns 14 properties around Buffalo, was cited by city housing inspectors for numerous violations at properties on Schreck and West Utica streets. Littles says he will fix the problems, which include broken windows, tires and trash in yards, rotting decks and loose gutters.
• A Lockport man, the son of a cancer survivor, plans to hike the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail in support of cancer research. Justin Cassamo, 30, plans to trek from Mexico to Canada through the deserts, mountains and forests of California, Oregon and Washington in honor of his mother, Paula Greck, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 but is now in remission. Cassamo hopes to raise money for cancer research at Roswell, and has set up a Web site—www.hike4lives.org—where pledges and donations can be made. (more…)