The Orange County Register has laid off workers in the newspaper’s editorial department as an advertising sales slump continues.
In a memo to employees, Editor Ken Brusic said “revenue problems continue to plague our company and our industry” and the Register has had to “cut expenses, including the elimination of positions, people and other non-payroll costs.”
“None of this is easy,” Brusic said. “But the truth is, as we see revenue continue to fall, especially in print, our company needs to take strong action to regain some balance.”
The cuts were estimated at about 30 workers. Brusic said those affected would be notified and let go by last week.
The Register also made other moves to “minimize the effect on people,” Brusic said.
That included reducing free-lance, dropping some wire services, eliminating open positions and “saving money any way we can,” Brusic said.
“The process is difficult and painful, especially for those most directly involved,” Brusic said. “They have done nothing wrong. They are good people.”
The Register, part of Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc., has been watching expenses for the past few years, including last year asking people to voluntarily leave with a severance package.
“You’ll recall from the town hall meetings that every division within Freedom is being asked to cut costs,” Brusic said.
Like other newspapers, the Register has gotten more pressure as more people shift to the Web to get their news.
“Our entire industry is in a state of transition,” Brusic said. “We are seeing fundamental shifts in the way people acquire and use news and information.”
The Register has made its own online push, with Web sites for its paper and other publications.
Brusic said the paper’s already seen “substantial results from our efforts on the Web.”
The Register also has “some good plans in the works to deal with a slightly smaller staff and prepare ourselves for a new way of thinking and working,” Brusic said.
In other Freedom news, the company recently bought TriCounty Newspapers, a group of four biweekly newspapers in northern Sacramento Valley owned by Morris Multimedia Inc. of Savannah, Ga.
The papers are: Colusa County Sun-Herald, Willows Journal, Orland Press-Register and the Corning Observer.
Freedom already owns the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville, a daily newspaper in the area.
Details of the acquisiton weren’t disclosed.
Jonathan Sega, president of Freedom’s community newspaper division, told the Appeal-Democrat that the papers were appealing because population in that area is expected to grow.
Hot Dog on a Shtick
Wienerschnitzel has a cell phone marketing gimmick.
The hot dog restaurant chain, owned by Newport Beach-based Galardi Group Inc., hooked up with San Jose-based Cellfire Inc. to offer discount coupons that people can download from their cell phones.
Tom Amberger, vice president of marketing at Wienerschnitzel, said the coupons encourage people to try new and old menu items, and reach the chain’s target audience: young males in California.
The marketing program is “cost effective” and gets “extremely high redemption rates,” Amberger said.
Cellfire customers, who subscribe to the company’s mobile coupon service, will get coupons for two chili cheese hot dogs for the price of one and 99 cent chili cheese fries.
Dual Del Taco
Lake Forest-based Del Taco Inc. is spreading the word about a restaurant it opened with sibling Captain D.’s Seafood Kitchen.
Del Taco and Captain D.’s, both owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Sagittarius Brands Inc., are promoting their first dual restaurant, which recently opened in Mt. Juliet, Tenn.
The grand opening featured a 20-foot long burrito.
Splashy Displays
A water bar, plasma TVs and tasting stations.
These are some of the elements that Irvine-based Mice DisplayWorks, part of Britain’s Mice Group PLC, incorporated in work it created for four new clients.
The marketing shop, which makes trade show exhibits and other displays, signed on Playboy Enterprises Inc., Mann Packing, Grimmway Farms and New York Transit Inc.’s Rocket Dog footwear brand.
The task: design and build custom 3-D trade show booths that help the companies increase sales, said George Bralla, Mice DisplayWorks vice president of sales.
“Our leading design and our product quality is helping us expand our client roster nationwide,” Bralla said.
The 20-foot by 50-foot booth for Playboy plays up the company’s licensed jewelry and clothing. It includes a water bar, mannequins dressed in Playboy apparel and a Playmate meet and greet area.
Mann Packing went with a booth that includes plasma screens playing educational food videos. Grimmway Farms’ booth has a mock marketplace with tasting stations and displays that promote its organic products.
New Hire
Desmond McLeish Inc. in Costa Mesa recently made a hire.
The public relations shop brought on Ryan Hall as account supervisor.
His task: advising Desmond McLeish’s land development, technology and civic clients, including the Empire Cos., San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board, the city of Corona’s department of Economic Development and the California Association of Employers.
