Strib has tentative labor deal, Pioneer Press to combine sections

The Star Tribune's newspaper guild has apparently accepted a three-year labor deal that preserves most jobs for a few years yet, without pay raises. It's still tentative, though.

Sounds pretty good at first blush, but MinnPost's David Brauer reports there's no layoff protection in the contract. Not so good at second blush.

And across the river...

The Pioneer Press says the rising cost of newsprint is forcing it to combine the A section (national, World news, A-1 stories) with the B section (Local news) on Mondays and Tuesdays.

In other words, that thin paper you've been seeing toward the beginning of the week? It might get a tad bit thinner, by about four to six pages a week. The number of stories, however, is not projected to shrink much (though their length might).

More here:
Minn Post's David Brauer on the PiPress combining sections

This is also probably good news. It was getting pretty depressing opening the local section and seeing a string of obituaries staring back at you from B-3.

They've also announced they're putting more energy into niche publications, like mini-magazine-style glossies with a few articles about sports, homebuying or entertainment and lots and lots and lots of advertisements.

This last part is a good thing. Advertisers like a targeted audience, and audiences like a targeted product!