Memphis 'Commercial Appeal' May Outsource to Tupelo Paper

By: Jim Rosenberg According to The Memphis Newspaper Guild, The Commercial Appeal may outsource to another printer next year, ending jobs in the 192,631-circulation (229,441 Sundays) daily's pressroom.

Citing a letter form management to the pressmen's union, Newspaper Guild President Daniel Connolly notified members that the E.W. Scripps paper recently informed the union that it is "considering outsourcing its print operations to a yet-to-be-built facility in Tupelo, Miss." Connolly said a significant but unknown number of jobs could be lost to outsourcing.

"We are exploring options for the 11 workers covered under The Newspaper Guild's contract and have a meeting scheduled on July 23 with the company," he told Guild members. According to the Guild, it remains unclear if those 11 employees would be affected by outsourced printing. On the operations side, the Guild represents building mechanics, transportation and warehouse workers, according to

Besides the Guild, the mailers' and pressmen's unions -- both affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters -- represent Commercial Appeal production employees.

"We are cooperating with the other unions as these talks move forward," Connolly wrote.

Commercial Appeal Operations Director Stephen Tomb first disclosed the possibility of outsourcing printing in a June 24 letter to Pressmen Local 231(M). Referring to the paper's aging equipment, Tomb wrote, "we believe further capital investment at our current production facility is not the most efficient use" of company resources. "Closing the current production facility in Memphis and relying on the planned regional printing facility in Tupelo appears to make economic sense for our future production needs."

His letter includes cost estimates for three pressroom options short of outsourcing: $23 million to rebuild units and folders on the two 16-units lines of Goss Metro offset, $26 million for conversion to six-wide, three-around printing, $40 million for a new press.

Journal Publishing Co. Inc., owner of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and community newspapers, approached the Commercial Appeal with the offer to take over its printing. Tomb told the pressmen that Journal Publishing needs an answer by Aug. 15 if the Commercial Appeal's requirements are to be included in he plant's design.