Providence Journal’s Slide Continues, Parent Company Reports $21.7M 2Q Loss
Saturday, July 29, 2017
The painful slide continues for the Providence Journal. The newspaper’s parent company New Media Investment Group (who owns GateHouse Media), announced a dismal second quarter performance.
New Media reported a drop in print advertising revenue — down 12.3 percent year-over-year.
The bright spot was digital revenue was $34.8 million, an increase of 9 percent over the prior year, but not nearly enough to make up for the print loss. Circulation revenue was flat.
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Top Story Removed - Unprecedented
A lead top story in the Providence Journal this week was removed because of errors. Alan Rosenberg, executive editor of the Providence Journal wrote:
A story in Tuesday’s Journal, describing the confrontation between Acting North Providence Police Chief Christopher Pelagio and a Cranston police sergeant at a memorial service, was based on the account of Carmine Giarusso, a retired Cranston police officer who was at the memorial service. Giarusso told The Journal that he had been interviewed as part of the investigation, and was granted anonymity in the story.
On Tuesday, Giarusso said he had left the service before the confrontation, that his description was based on a video he had seen, and that he had not been interviewed for the investigation. Additionally, Col. Michael Winquist, the Cranston police chief, said Tuesday that he had not called North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi about the investigation, as Giarusso told The Journal.
The Journal no longer stands behind Tuesday’s story, which we have removed from our website.
Trudeau Story Drew Criticism From National Press
All of this come just two weeks after the paper was criticized by the national media. A front page story in the Providence Journal about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drew ridicule by national and local press for the article’s focus.
The story by Jacqueline Tempera of the Providence Journal on Trudeau - who was in town for the National Governors Association summer meeting - starts off, "Feeling blue? Google three words: Justin Trudeau butt."
Besides the front page story, there was an online video by Tempera focusing on Trudeau's looks. Scott McKay, former Providence Journal reporter wrote a blistering analysis on the faux pas and ended his comments with, “And they [Providence Journal] wonder why they are slouching toward irrelevance. Somewhere Michael Metcalf is spinning in his grave. Jim Wyman and Steve Hamblett too."
Related Slideshow: Where the Former Projo Stars Are Today
Take a look at where the top Providence Journal writers and reporters from the 1990s and 2000s are now reporting. UPDATED April, 2017
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