By Wade Kwon
Birmingham has seen one of its most tumultuous years in its media landscape. The last 365 days have brought layoffs, departures, closings and a few victories among local outlets.
It was 1 year ago today that the New York Times scooped New Orleans’ venerable Times-Picayune on its own impending upheaval: layoffs, a drop to publishing three times a week and the formation of two new companies.
Before that explosive announcement, Advance’s online portal al.com joined nola.com and mlive.com in a drastic and comprehensive site redesign. Reaction by readers nationwide — as Advance switched all its sites over to the 2012 look — was overwhelmingly negative.
The following day (May 24), owner Advance Publications announced hurriedly what Times-Picayune staffers had already learned online. In addition, the New Jersey-based chain rolled out a similar Alabama-wide strategy for the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times and the Press-Register of Mobile.
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See full coverage of Advance Publications.
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Before reviewing the Advance Crisis of the last 12 months, just look at the other major events on Birmingham’s media scene during the same period …
- Birmingham Weekly ceased publication Aug. 15. The publication ran for 14 years; then, under publisher Stephen Humphrey’s reign, barely 14 months. (See the inside story.)
- Black and White went on permanent hiatus Jan. 10 after 21 years of publication.
- Weld for Birmingham lost two of its four founders within its first year of publishing, one last May and one in July under heated circumstances.
- Alabama Public Television fired executive director Allan Pizzato with no cause given. Birmingham Business Journal named him Nonprofit CEO of 2011.
- Magic City Post (disclosure: my former company) stopped operation as a news site earlier this month after 3 years.
- Paul Finebaum, a Birmingham radio fixture for 20 years, left the air in January as his contract expired. He’ll resume his show for ESPN in August from Charlotte.
- Tanya Ott, news director for WBHM (90.3 FM) for 10 years, left the station earlier this month to become vice president of radio at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta.
- Even Media of Birmingham changed from a professional organization into a news site only.
- A few awards …
- Birmingham Magazine won Best Redesign Monday from the City and Regional Magazine Association.
- Cooking Light and Oxmoor House won James Beard Foundation Awards earlier this month.
- James Spann won Broadcaster of the Year in September from the National Weather Association.
A look at the ups and downs since Advance’s restructuring of its Birmingham operations …
May 2012
May 24: Birmingham News reporters tweet the stunning morning announcements on publishing schedule and company reorganization.
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At the same time, the media release appears on al.com, similar to the one on nola.com and that would appear in coming months for other Advance properties.
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Naturally, layoffs were part of the deal.
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I threw in an appropriate hashtag.
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Birmingham News staffers (and others) weighed in via Twitter.
While New Orleans felt the ire of a large, loyal readership, Birmingham faced a more muted response. That afternoon, New Orleans residents spring into action with a Save the Picayune campaign. No such reaction in Birmingham.
Mobile finds layoffs ‘exciting’ for its May 25, 2012, edition.
[larger version]
May 25: Print editions across the state splash the announcement across the front page.
May 30: Our special Media of Birmingham report details worries about layoffs and the new model for the Birmingham News.
May 31: Another Media of Birmingham report shows one key company, al.com, seemingly lost in the shuffle. While the newspapers would fire hundreds, al.com would fire only one employee.
