The news is chilling for our colleagues at The Register-Guard following the announced sale of the newspaper to GateHouse Media as of March 1. A notice that went up in the RG employee lunchroom says existing employees may or may not receive an offer of employment from GateHouse, which is buying only the assets of the family-owned business. “If you do receive such an offer, please review it carefully, because the offer will be for a job with very different terms and conditions than those under which you currently work,” the notice says. Our guess is that “very different” doesn’t mean “better.”
Rumor has it that RG workers get to apply for their old jobs in interviews Feb. 12-14; those who don’t make the cut will be gone by the end of the month.
We wish everyone on Chad Drive the very best of luck.
Here’s the complete text of the memo:
Notice to All Employees — A Change in Working Conditions
As was announced, a subsidiary of GateHouse Media entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all the assets of Guard Publishing Company. You may receive an offer of employment from GateHouse, contingent on a successful closing of the sale. Such offer will be on terms and conditions that will be different going forward than what they are today. If you do receive such an offer, please review it carefully, because the offer will be for a job with very different terms and conditions than those under which you currently work.
Some differences include but are not limited to:
- The normal work week
- Overtime (weekly not daily)
- Benefit plans and designs
- Employee contribution rates for various benefits
- Wage rates (ex: for new employees)
- Subcontracting of work (ex: news and advertising operations)
- Managers performing work as needed
- Schedule changes
- Severance
- Process for future reductions in force
- Part time hours and benefits
- Policies and procedures as outlined in the GateHouse Employee and Newsroom Handbooks
Eugene Weekly Arts Editor Bob Keefer worked as a reporter at The Register-Guard for 30 years before retiring from the paper in 2013.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519