So Long and Thanks For All The... Uhhhh

After helming the massive changes that have wracked the Commercial Appeal, helping new Editor in Chief Chris Peck to remake the daily into... well, whatever it is today, Publisher John Wilcox is resigning...

...to become publisher of the San Francisco Examiner, the free-distribution newspaper he says is "a new model" for newspapers everywhere struggling with declining circulation and advertising revenue.

Just like the one he's leaving, which has smaller circulation than when he took over. Watch out, San Francisco! Here's the Wikipedia history of the paper.

"I expect operations at The Commercial Appeal will go along as they have," Wilcox told upper-level managers in a morning meeting. "You've gone through a tough transition. But you've made significant progress and the future is bright."

Corporate meetings I've been in where I heard talk like that, it was bland-speak for "You're still in trouble, but I am outta here."

During Wilcox's tenure in Memphis, The Commercial Appeal began publishing separate weekly and twice-weekly Appeal editions in eight communities as a way to increase the amount of local news coverage.

Of course, there are some of us who would like all the news, not just some of it. Those Appeal sections were light on "news," though, and filled with stuff like "Local bookstore likes readers." Not really news, just a reason for folks to buy a paper with them in it (and extra copies for friends and relatives).

Within four months of the rollout, the editions were profitable, Wilcox said, paving the way for the paper to add more community editions, including one for Millington readers.

Lower ad rates, most likely, and only a handful of pages to fill. Of course, it helps when it only takes two people to produce those Appeals and a lot of the writing is done for you for free -- by the people you're covering or their PR firms. Those Appeals aren't newspaper-lets, but shopper's guides. Big difference.

The biggest challenge, Wilcox said, has been changing the culture in the newspaper itself to reflect "a leaner, more community-oriented feel."

Well, yeah! "We're cutting back reporters. You've gotta cover more, and write more." I'd resist that, too. The Memphis Flyer has been covering that aspect lately.

I've heard that former editor Angus McEachran has been none too happy with what's happened to "his" paper under Wilcox and Peck, which might explain his non-appearance in its pages even though he still calls Shelby County home. Wilcox came from within the Scripps-Howard corporation, the owners of our daily, but is now leaving it. Did he jump or was he gently pushed? He's moving downmarket; the Examiner has two-thirds the circulation of the Commercial Appeal and functions on the alt-weekly business model of selling lots of ads to subsidise its "free" cost.

Of course, Wilcox is a California liberal. He tells the San Francisco Examiner "I am excited to be joining one of the nation's most progressive newspapers in my home state of California." And his cohort Peck is another liberal of the Pacific Northwest variety. Peck has been importing a lot of folks from his old haunts to the Bluff City. The Commercial Appeal's changes have been a corporate experiment to fight the industry-wide decline in circulation, relevance and profits of newspapers. So, I wouldn't look for any major changes from whoever takes over for Wilcox.

One question for my readers. I know that in the old days being the publisher of the paper meant you owned the name and the presses; you hired the writers, photographers, pressmen and reporters; the paper reflected your interests and passions. It meant you could go to your editor in chief with a few pages of your thoughts and say "Print this in tomorrow's edition" and he'd do it. He had to or you'd fire him.

So what does being "president and publisher" mean in the age of corporate, chain newspapers? How important is the position? How much influence do you wield? How at the mercy of the corporate parent are you? I'm curious.

Can anyone provide any background on what motivated Wilcox? Again, walk or push? Who's dissatisfied and why?