• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 12, 2008

Call it a "bad cop, worse cop" strategy. Last week, Tribune Company executives announced they would be "right-sizing" newspapers so that no edition contains more than 50% editorial content, opening the way for substantial cuts in newsroom staff. The announcement elicited widespread dissent and criticism both inside and outside Tribune newsrooms, but the executives were not finished.

On Tuesday, the company said it will close the Los Angeles Times' monthly magazine and create a new publication, with a new editorial staff, entirely under the control of the Los Angeles Times Media Group. In short, Tribune executives are transferring control of the magazine from editorial staff to the business side.

According to a New York Times Web story, the new magazine--as yet unnamed--will be edited by Annie Gilbar, a former editor of InStyle, who also hosted a show on the Home Shopping Network. Stanton, however, denies that an editor has been hired.

According to several reports, plans for the new magazine were developed for months without his knowledge. Stanton, who took up his post in February, has requested that the publisher not call it the Los Angeles Times Magazine when it debuts in August or September, since it will not be under editorial control.

Newspaper analysts panned both elements of Tribune's strategy, calling them risky and shortsighted. Chopping editorial content is risky because "basically, it's diminishing the product," according to John Morton, a veteran newspaper analyst who heads his own consultancy.

"Newspapers are counting on success on the Internet, but that success still relies heavily on the standing of the print newspaper. Its brand name is highly important, and anything that you do to diminish that--by making the product smaller, thinner, the coverage less deep or sophisticated--could end up undermining the Internet strategy as well," says Morton.

Likewise, turning the LAT magazine over to business management could blur the lines between editorial and advertising content. Morton added: "There has to be a very clear demarcation in the newspaper business between what is, and is not, for sale. If they cross that line, they risk damaging the entire newspaper brand--not just the magazine."

In an email to the LAT newsroom, Stanton promised that the magazine will include a disclaimer that it is not produced by LAT reporters, as "We want to make sure that the public--our readers and the subjects of the stories included--are not confused about who is producing the content of the magazine." Some confusion, however, seems inevitable.

Ken Doctor, a newspaper analyst with Outsell Inc., pointed out that "the idea of doing niche magazines and appealing to a specific set of advertisers is not a revolutionary idea or a controversial idea, as long as they're clearly labeled as advertising--but it has to be done well. Above all, you don't mix the two." Echoing Morton's warning about the risk to the LAT brand, Doctor expressed amazement at management's highly public, but also "tone-deaf" approach.

Addressing the "50-50" ratio, Doctor said a strategy of deep newsroom cuts runs counter to the trend at most Web-savvy newspapers: "It's crystal clear what the smarter publishers are doing,Yes, there have been layoffs and buyouts, but they try to minimize them, because the growth strategy requires journalists to create more and more content that is able to be distributed via the Internet and on mobile phones, as well as in general print and niche print."

Many newspapers are keeping print journalists but asking them to assume new, additional roles as bloggers or Internet video reporters. Doctor noted that the Washington Post recently trained 185 newsroom staff in video reporting.