Poynter Online has published the text of Tony Ridder’s letter to employees of the “approximately” 94 Knight Ridder newspapers purchased by The McClatchy Company. It’s long, detailed and lists the 12 newspapers McClatchy has decided to put on the block.
The letter, in addition to being very thorough with FAQ’s, asks for a trade: We’ll keep you informed, and we want you, the employees to keep up all your good work (as in maintain the value of the transaction) while we complete the acquisition and divestiture.
Will employees continue to work hard? Will they bail? Or perhaps they’ll be paralyzed, as many workers are in times of turmoil. And neither Knight Ridder nor McClatchy can influence this much now, even if they practice the utmost in transparency in their current communications.
Why? The time for garnering trust and loyalty was the months and years building up to the acquisition. All will depend upon how well the employees felt Knight Ridder kept them informed and involved in their destiny day-to-day BEFORE all this came about. And it is interesting that there’s a Knight Ridder Union website that’s welcoming non-union employees to participate in their activities.
Comment Preview