Editor says Rutland Herald/Times Argus staff all paid
RUTLAND - Staff of the Rutland Herald and sister newspaper Barre Montpelier Times Argus met Monday morning following news that the media company failed to pay employees and delivery crews. They were told all staff has now been paid, and the papers would continue to operate.
Editor-in-Chief Rob Mitchell shared what he said to the staff about two hours after the meeting. In a statement, he acknowledged the media company is having financial problems.
"Yes, several employees had manual checks bounce. As was reported in the story Friday, we have been late paying expenses, and we have been late paying freelancers. None of that has been easy for you, for our drivers and it has not been easy for me or my father," Mitchell told the staff, according to a statement he shared with the Burlington Free Press.
Mitchell's father, R. John Mitchell, is the president and publisher of the papers. The Rutland Herald is one of the oldest newspapers in the country, first published in 1794. The Mitchell family has owned the Rutland Herald since 1947, and the Times Argus since 1964. The current crisis began last week when it became known that certain employees and freelancers were not being paid.
In his statement, Rob Mitchell addressed his efforts to calm the situation.
"I walked over to the bank with several of you to make sure you got paid," he said. "We have written letters for employees whose checks bounced, to make sure that your banks know that it was an issue between the newspapers and our lender, not your fault.
Mitchell said the situation has been "embarrassing, humiliating and difficult" for him personally, but insisted, "There is a future for these newspapers."
Around noon when the meeting concluded, several reporters left the building in Rutland, at least one to cover a story. None of the staff members wanted to comment about the meeting. Mitchell came out to speak with reporters but offered no comment other than to say he would be issuing a statement by email later.
About an hour later, Mitchell and a half-dozen reporters were at work in the Herald's newsroom, where the mood appeared to be relatively relaxed, given the circumstances.
Reporters working in the Rutland newsroom Monday said the print edition would be publishing Thursday as normal. The media company publishes online only Monday through Wednesday and prints a paper edition Thursday through Sunday.
Rutland Herald News Editor Alan Keays was fired Friday after he directed reporters to cover the situation. In a story published Friday morning written by Herald reporter Gordon Dritschilo, several staffers said they had not been paid and had not heard from their bosses what the next steps are.
Mitchell's statement Monday made no mention Keays.
Mitchell responded to an email on Monday asking if the paper was considering reinstating Keays by saying he was unable to comment. Keays could not be reached for comment.
In his statement, Mitchell referred to a flood five years ago in Barre at the Times Argus — where the Herald also was printed — that destroyed the newspaper's press as among the many problems "that are out of our control."
In a 2013 interview with Poynter, a Florida-based journalism research and education institution, Mitchell said the May 2011 flood caused $7 million of damage, "only partly covered by insurance." He said the paper had to lay off 40 employees as a result.
Mitchell told Poynter the company as a whole has seen a negative trend in revenue since 2007. He said the company cut expenses by 38 percent in the six years after 2007 but had seen revenue fall by "roughly equal amounts" with most of the losses coming in the "hard recession" years of 2007-09.
The Rutland Herald is the oldest continuously family owned newspaper in the United States, published under the same name in the same city, according to the paper’s website. The first edition was published on Dec. 8, 1794.
In 1964, the Rutland Herald bought the Times Argus.
This story was posted online on Aug. 8, 2016, and has been updated. Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanDambrosioVT.
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Rutland laments Herald's troubles
Here is the complete statement issued Monday by Rutland Herald Editor-in-Chief Rob Mitchell regarding the paper's financial situation:
To all -
I want to first of all acknowledge that this has been a very difficult few weeks for all of you and for these newspapers. The uncertainty has weighed on all of you, and on us. You may wonder why we have rescheduled this meeting repeatedly. The simple, honest answer is that we have had a lot of work to do, each and every day, and wanted to ensure that any information provided to you was accurate. Our priority through all of this has been to preserve these newspapers and to make sure that our employees are paid, and we meet our obligations. We have worked tirelessly on that and have done that.
Yes, several employees had manual checks bounce. As was reported in the story Friday, we have been late paying expenses, and we have been late paying freelancers. None of that has been easy for you, for our drivers and it has not been easy for me or my father. I walked over to the bank with several of you to make sure you got paid. We have written letters for employees whose checks bounced, to make sure that your banks know that it was an issue between the newspapers and our lender, not your fault. Personally, this has been embarrassing, humiliating and difficult, as I'm sure it has been for many of you. If you hare having any additional difficulties, you need to bring those directly to our attention in a one on one basis so that we can address those issues directly with our lender.
We are all tired, and if you're like me, you've lost a significant amount of sleep. But all our employees have been paid, and employee expenses have been paid. While it may look bad from the outside, it's not as bad as it looks.
At this point, there are still things we can't talk about, for a variety of reasons. Rather than focus on what we can not yet openly discuss, I am going to try to focus today instead on what we can talk about – the overall direction and the future of these newspapers. There is a future for these newspapers. The context to where we are right now is important. We started this year with a general plan that is designed to bridge our newspapers to the digital world. It's no secret that these newspapers and newspapers everywhere have had major, life-changing challenges. On top of this transition, we've had to deal with a flood that destroyed our press and a lot of other problems that are out of our control.
It has always been my family's intention to do whatever possible to ensure these newspapers make the transition to a new business model. We have worked on this plan over the course of the last few years, and have started putting it in place. In March, we launched the Business Vermont web site, an online iteration of the New England Business Journals. In May, we reconfigured and improved the Sunday newspaper, and launched our first consumer-focused mobile app, Go Rutland. In July, we moved to four days of print publication. We have started a web site redesign that will allow for a modern news workflow.
None of these things were or are easy to pull off. We've accomplished much with your support, your hard work, your diligence and our shared belief that we are here because the mission of the Rutland Herald and Times Argus is important. It's important for all of us to keep that in mind. My family has been a part of the Rutland Herald since 1935. We've been a part of the Times Argus since 1964. These newspapers have had hard times, and have had good times in those years. Through it all, the newspapers, and I believe, my family, have established a long track record of standing for the principles of free speech, government transparency, and of taking principled, public stands on issues that matter to the community at large. That has not changed – it will not change.
What is at stake right now is whether we can prove that a strong, community-oriented news organization can and will continue. I am here because I believe it will, and my career and my heart are dedicated to figuring that out.