Kodak breaks eggs for omelet
Eastman
Kodak’s big news broke too late for us to outline the company’s “Digitally
Oriented Strategy to Accelerate Growth” last week. But we’d already
carried the story in essence. (See City
Newspaper, September 24-30, “Hocus Focus: Will the Company Town Lose
Its Magic?”) Now we all wait for Kodak to achieve its goal of generating
$20 billion in revenue by 2010 through its newly “diversified business
portfolio.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย For the Rochester area, the
portfolio will become progressively lighter as the company snips away its paper
film business and lots of jobs. The local workforce has dropped about
two-thirds from its high point — more than 60,000 in the early 1980s. But we
suspect we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Part of Kodak’s September 25
bombshell news release reads like a product warning label. “Actual results
may differ from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements,”
says the release, in boilerplate meant to satisfy federal regs.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The boilerplate tells of various
“risk factors.” Yes, we all realized the company wasn’t immune to
“general economic, geo-political, public health, and business
conditions,” not to mention the cupidity of competitors and fickleness of
consumers. But Rochesterians probably aren’t so understanding of
“personnel reductions” as Kodak pursues “development of [its]
business in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and
Russia.”
Conspiracy
theory
Some
readers are accusing the Democrat and
Chronicle of initially downplaying the Bob
Lonsberry episode.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The newspaper broke the story that
the WHAM 1180 AM radio host made racially charged remarks about Rochester’s
black mayor on its September 20 editorial page. City resident John Borek says
the newspaper, prior to the editorial appearing, refused to run his letter
about the incident, citing a policy that it doesn’t break news on its editorial
page and that a larger story was forthcoming.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Instead, the paper gave Lonsberry a
“thumbs down.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “They buried it,” Borek says. “They
put it in with 10 other items.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Borek is president-elect of the
Sector Four Common Council, made up of five neighborhood associations in
southwest Rochester.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “This issue is larger than
Lonsberry,” Borek says. “If this isn’t reported in the Democrat and Chronicle, what else wouldn’t be?”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย A representative of the Democrat and Chronicle says that every
story is judged on its merits and there was no attempt to bury this one.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Thumbs up, Thumbs down is one of
the most popular features in the paper,” he says. “You don’t bury it by putting
it in Thumbs up, Thumbs down.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย He admits, however, that the
editorial page is “not the traditional place to find breaking news.”
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2003.
