Of all the slashing and burning going on at the Star-Telegram of late, perhaps the unkindest cuts have been sustained by the paper’s Austin bureau. Jake Dyer and Jay Root hit the trail after the last round of staff reductions. In this round of buyouts, John Moritz hit the exit. For Fort Worth readers who get most of their news about state government from the Star-Telegram, these cuts are indeed bad news. As Moritz himself put it in his touching farewell note to his colleagues, “Representative democracy cannot survive without the watchful eye of a free and aggressive press. … I pray that those who practice our profession never lose sight of that.”
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When it comes to Fort Worth’s only daily newspaper these days, it seems that the more incredible or absurd sounding a rumor is, the more likely it is to be true. For instance, when I heard a month or so back that the historic Star-Telegram headquarters was for sale, I thought it was impossible that McClatchy would sell the building that Amon Carter built. Well, that rumor turned out to be true. Strange, strange times.

Frontburner asks the question. I don’t think it would, could or should happen. More likely, No. 1: a joint operating agreement where the two papers combined all of their printing and circulation and maybe other non-newsroom functions. More likely, Pt. 2: Some fat wallet or private equity group buys the S-T and takes them private. Discuss.

The Texas Observer took a whack at the Star-Telegram’s softball coverage of the Barnett Shale in its latest issue. While I think it is useful to introduce statewide readers to the suckitude of the S-T’s Op-Ed coverage on this issue, this is not new to those of us in Fort Worth.

I find most of the Star-Telegram’s coverage of the Barnett Shale to be uninquisitive, uninsightful and often downright unreadable (Exhibit A: In June, the paper praised Chesapeake for lighting its corporate offices in Fort Worth: “Most everyone’s spirits could use a boost right now, and that’s what the lights blazing atop the Chesapeake building do for us.” Meanwhile in another part of the city.) However, Jeff Prince of the FWWeekly, no S-T lover himself, is quick to point out that some of the coverage has occasionally been quite good. “Gradually, a couple of reporters – particularly Mike Lee in the print version and Scott Nishimura on the paper’s online blog site – have shown a determination to shine a light on both the good and the bad of urban drilling. ” I would say that Fort Worth deserves a better newspaper, but given current events, Fort Worth will be lucky if it has a newspaper at all before long.

The scuttlebutt in the newsroom had been that another round of layoffs — the third this year — was coming, possibly in September. Looks more like today. Question for West and Clear readers: do you subscribe to or even read the paper and is the Star-Telegram relevant to your daily life?

Bud Kennedy informs us that Kincaid’s is staying put on Camp Bowie after all. Days before a threatened eviction, the owners of the legendary burger joint have reached an 11th-hour agreement to keep their location in the former grocery store where it has been for 62 years.

Bud also opened the door to one of the most passionate ongoing debates in this town: “Fort Worth and Arlington both are great hamburger towns,” he writes. “Plenty of diners have other favorites such as Fred’s Cafe or Tommy’s Hamburgers in Fort Worth or Al’s Hamburgers in Arlington, along with plenty of new-wave burger cafes.”

What’s your favorite? It think Kincaid’s and Tommy’s are good. Al’s will do if you have to be in Arlington. But Terry Chandler’s FredBurger is the gold standard in my book. I’ll put a FredBurger with grilled jalapenos and cold Rahr up against all comers.

Unfair Park reports on today’s S-T job cuts. According to a memo from S-T publisher Gary Wortel, cuts will come “from the newsroom to advertising, circulation and the press operation.” Also, sections will also be consolidated and subscription rates will also be raised. Unfair Park learned that the Star-Telegram’s print version will no longer take breaking-news items after 11 p.m., forcing readers to go to the Web in yet another money-saving effort.

Unfair Park and Poynter have both blogged this morning about impending job cuts at McClatchy, parent company of the Star-Telegram. In a release, McClatchy said it’s trimming its payroll by 10 percent through both voluntary and involuntary separations. The Kansas City Star — the S-T’s long-time sister paper in terms of size and demographics, has already announced its intention to cut 120 jobs. Don’t be surprised to see a similar announcement out of West 7th Street today.

Catherine Cuellar at Pegasus News is reporting on the Square Pegs blog that McClatchy, the parent company of the Star-Telegram, will be downsizing next week, “costing dozens if not hundreds of local staff members their jobs.” The Star-Telegram fired 15 people back in April as part of a staff reduction.

Certainly, the scuttlebutt has been swirling through the newsroom since Thursday and a lot of people at West 7th Street are on edge. I was a little skeptical about the idea the “dozens if not hundreds” number. Once upon a time, the S-T newsroom was about 400 people. Could McClatchy really lay off several hundred people? Well, a ZoomInfo search shows the S-T has about 1,800 employees, so it isn’t outside the realm of possibility. I’m not hearing much else. Right now, the Sergeant Schultz rule seems to be in effect — no one knows nuthin bout nuthin.

UPDATE, 6.15.08: This from an email: “S-T HR Director in building Sunday night. Why is HR in the building on a weekend? Must be sharpening the ax for next week…”

My neighbor and friend of West and Clear Mike Lee reported in the Star-Telegram this week that the city delayed its decision on transportation impact fees. Quite naturally, developers don’t want to pay the fees and are lobbying hard to lower the price.

I think the city staff’s original proposal, which would have encouraged growth in areas that already have sufficient infrastructure, was an excellent plan. The proposed compromises, which would levy a much lower fee across the city, including areas that already have good roads (!?), would be an unfortunate example of the citizens’ best interest being ignored in favor of corporate developers.

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