NEW York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who earlier this week survived rumors of a Mexican billionaire trying to seize control of his company, is now confronted with labor unrest on the Parisian front.
It’s not exactly the storming of the Bastille, but today will mark the second day of picketing outside the offices of the International Herald Tribune — all because the company is planning to chop the sports editor, Peter Berlin, and five other non-newsroom jobs in Paris.
One source said that the paper had always prided itself on “having a sports section tailored to readers outside the US. If they are getting rid of the sports editor, it sounds like they are just going to run more stuff out of New York.”
Four of the staffers will be spared if they accept similar jobs in Hong Kong.
One source said that due to European work rules and mandatory benefits, a worker in Hong Kong would cost the company less than the same person in Paris.
Sulzberger probably rues the day he convinced the Washington Post and the Graham family to hand over their 50 percent stake of the IHT, giving the Times full ownership of the money-bleeding daily.
In Paris, nothing can be done without a lot of meetings, and management has been in talks with the Comité Central d’Enterprise and various employee groups.
“We’ve proposed moving the one editorial job for economic reasons and also because we think it will improve our journalism by allowing that editor to start earlier in the Asia day,” said an IHT spokesperson.
Spin meister
Bob Guccione Jr. , founder of music magazine Spin, who made a fortune when he sold the magazine for $42 million to the Robert Miller-led Vibe/Spin Ventures in 1997, is back for the magazine’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The May issue will be the first time the former editor-in-chief/owner has written for the book since he turned over the keys.
Spin is also hosting 25 live music events across the country, topped by a five-day set of concerts at the Bowery Presents venues in July.
“The Gooch” is the oldest son of Penthouse founder Bob Guccione Sr., who bankrolled his son’s project but tried to shut it down in 1987 when Penthouse Media hit some financial turbulence.
Spin was clearly in its glory years under Guccione. When Vibe/Spin Ventures was sold to its current owners four years ago, it went for a paltry $5 million.
Newsday talks
Cablevision CEO James Dolan may be in for some hard bargaining sessions with Teamster negotiators.
Talks resume today over contracts for 1,100 Newsday workers covered by the union’s Local 406.
The paper is pushing for major givebacks, but the Teamsters are resisting, saying if they give ground with Newsday other papers will want similar concessions.
Dolan, who paid $650 million to buy the paper from Sam Zell‘s bankrupt Tribune Co. two years ago, insists it has been nothing but a money loser.
During its earnings report last week, Cablevision said that Newsday had revenue of $342.3 million last year and an operating loss of $12.6 million.
The Teamsters don’t believe it.
“It’s a bookkeeping figure, it’s a paper loss,” said George Tedeschi, vice president at large of Teamsters International, who is leading the talks. “We don’t necessarily agree with their numbers.”
He pointed to the figure for “adjusted operating cash flow” from the same earnings report, which shows Newsday made $21.8 million last year.
Last month, Local 406 overwhelming rejected a proposed contract that would have cut pay by 10 percent for most workers, extended the work week and curbed vacation time.
The union represents everyone from reporters and photographers to truck drivers and printers, all of whose contracts expire by the end of July.
Dues blues
The American Society of Magazine Editors is trying to close a looming budget deficit with a 51-percent membership-fee hike for editors-in-chief.
They’re not too happy about that.
“I think it is outrageous, with all of the magazines going under, to nearly double the price,” said one angry top editor who got the bill earlier this week. “This was not the year to do that, with so many people being laid off.”
Chief editors of consumer magazines, who remain the backbone of the organization, are seeing their dues jump from $395 to $595 a year.
ASME CEO Sid Holt said the organization has not raised dues since 2007, and is looking at a tough 2010.
In 2008, the group posted a loss of $9,000 on revenue of $1,361,000. The 2009 figures have not been tallied yet.
“ASME now needs to raise its dues to balance the books for 2010,” Holt said.
He said that for editors lower on the masthead, dues were actually trimmed by $20 — from $395 to $375. Editors who have lost their jobs are not being charged any dues for 2010. keith.kelly@nypost.com