Business Beat

Many college graduates will begin new jobs soon. And for some the first day at work could be as unsettling as the first day of kindergarten.

And there’s good reason, according to a new survey. The biggest challenge facing new hires in the advertising and marketing field is something colleges haven’t prepared grads for: fitting into the corporate culure.

Forty-two percent of the advertising and marketing executives surveyed by The Creative Group, a Menlo, Calif., ad and marketing agency, cited the corporate culture as newbies’ biggest hurdle.

“It can be challenging for job seekers to assess a firm’s culture and how well it aligns with their values and priorities,” said Megan Slabinski, The Creative Group’s executive director. “While good pay and benefits are attractive, nothing trumps a genuine sense of belonging.”

To fit in, the execs say, new employees should learn their manager’s communication preferences--e-mail or face to face; learn protocols for meetings; tune into the work ethic and get a sense of the chain of command.

The company polled 250 executives at the country’s largest advertising and marketing agencies.

A Long Island advertising executive had a dramatically different point of view. At the smaller shops, the biggest challenge newbies face is surviving constant deadlines, said Ken Greenberg, president of Austin & Williams, a Hauppauge advertising agency. .

“These young people starting out sort of get thrust into that,” Greenberg said. “Depending on the cocoon they came out of, it may be a little bit alarming.”

The speed at smaller agencies dictate a shorter learning curve, he says.
At his shop, they show new employees how to perfrom a task, tell them to watch the experienced staff and “then you are thrown to the wolves,” Greenberg said.

“This culture is completely about how we’re getting the work out at a level above what we believe the competition is getting the work out,” he said.

For more on the survey go to:

http://www.creativegroup.com

and click on "Press Room."

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

It’s almost impossible to tell whether this proposal from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will fly or not, but for the moment it sounds like good news to those struggling with mortgages.

The FDIC announced Wednesday that it is proposing that Congress authorize the Treasury Department to make loans to borrowers with unaffordable mortgages to pay down up to 20 percent of their principal.

The repayment and financing costs for these Home Ownership Preservation loans would be borne by mortgage investors and borrowers.

The agency that insures deposits up to $100,000 in U.S. banks and thrift institutions said the plan would be administratively simple, and will avoid unnecessary foreclosures to help stabilize mortgage and housing prices. In addition there is no cost to the government, it said. Find details.

Brian Lowry of Variety is the latest media analyst to tote up the reasons why Rupert Murdoch's shrewdness makes him the most likely purchaser of Newsday from Sam Zell and his Tribune company.

In his column for the entertainment paper today, Lowry said Murdoch "is that rare mogul willing to set short-term earnings considerations aside in pursuit of larger game." He gives as an example his Fox deal for NFL football rights that has paid back in many new station affiliations.

Lowry talks too about how Murdoch is a master of manipulating the federal regulatory environment that would stop many smaller operators. Lowry said, "Murdoch is presenting himself as a white knight, but like Scrooge, his pitch comes as a tacit ultimatum: 'Give me these properties to run my way,' he's essentially saying, 'or watch them die.'"

--Noel Rubinton

After a I wrote a story about an upcoming job fair on Long Island, a reader responded with his war stories from the job-hunting front, including some job fairs.
His tales of a woe show that the current job market can be brutal.

That reader, Robert Banks, 64, of Dix Hills, lost a high-tech consulting job just over a year ago. He hasn’t found a once since.

“The job market is very upsetting,” he said.

He thought his age might be a factor.

“I was thinking that I was not hired because of age discrimination,” he said.

And then there’s the matter of salary. He approached a tech company at a job fair. But he was surprised to learn the company was offering just $12 an hour.

“Low salaries are a major problem with companies on Long Island,” he said. “If our companies would offer at least $15 an hour then it’s worth a shot.”

If you have a job-hunting story you’d like to share with Newsday, drop me an email at carrie.draffen@newsday.com.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

As the staffing industry goes, so goes the economy. Some economists believe the temp industry is a bellwether of the nation’s economic health. So it’s not surprising that the latest report from the American Staffing Association shows slowing demand for temps in a slow economy.

The group’s latest weekly index slipped back to 100 for April 7 through 13, from the 101 reading the previous week. And demand has been that flat since January, the Alexandria, Va.-based group said yesterday. At the end of last year the index had risen to as high as 110.

While the temporary employment situation may look bleak nationally, Long Island appears to be holding its own, says Dana Terzian, a direct placement recruiter for Adecco, whose North American headquarters is in Melville.

“We are not seeing as deep a decrease in the job market [here] as in other areas of the country,” Terzian said.

She said that the demand for employees remains strong in engineering, health care, information technology, education and accounting.

But Adecco has experienced slowing demand for employees in manufacturing and construction, reflecting, she said, a slowdown in consumer spending and the subprime mortgage mess.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

The handicapping of the possible buyers of Newsday keeps going on. The latest entry comes today from Fortune, where Devin Leonard writes about why Rupert Murdoch has the inside track over Mort Zuckerman--no odds given in this one about the late Cablevision/New York Observer entry.

Leonard says that, against some conventional wisdom, Murdoch would have it easier getting regulators to endorse his plans than Zuckerman. The reason is even more interesting: Leonard says that Murdoch's pauper status--at least in terms of a money-losing Post--will help him more than the profits of the Daily News.

--Noel Rubinton

You know the economy’s in a funk when career experts are jumping in with advice on how to land a job in tough times. The latest to chime in is Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based career consulting firm that is offering a downloadable guidebook entitled “How to Find a Job in an Economic Downturn.”

Among the many suggestions:

Create your own job fair with a social event such as a cookout. Invite people in managerial positions and use the opportunity to network.

Accept plenty of invitations. Go to as many weddings, dinners and parties as you can. “These get-togethers offer you a marvelous chance to set up appointments later in the week where you can really sit down and talk,” Challenger Gray says.

Meet with new people every day - or as often as possible. The meeting could be lunch with a friend who has extensive contacts in a variety of industries.

E-mail your way into an interview. Check a company Website or call the main switchboard to find the e-mail address of the person managing the area in which you want to work. Then send a brief and persuasive note on why the the person should meet with you.

For a copy of the guide go to:

http://www.challengergray.com/press/Challenger_Guidebook.pdf

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Rupert Murdoch has a track record of almost always getting what he wants. In his proposed purchase of Newsday from Tribune, it looks like he'll have to work overtime on the political and regulatory fronts to keep that streak going, says reporter Amy Schatz in her story in the Wall Street Journal.

She writes: "News Corp.'s bid to buy Newsday will face regulatory hurdles, but political attacks on the deal could be more of a long-term problem as News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch tries to seal the deal." She details the intracies of the hurdles, suggesting that they are surmountable but formidable.

--Noel Rubinton

It would be a sad day for journalism is Rupert Murdoch takes over Newsday. So says Ruth Hochberger, a lawyer who teaches media law/ethics at the CUNY Journalism.

Hochberger, a media blogger for the Huffington Post, said she believes that with Murdoch at the helm of the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal and Newsday, "Even with the depth and breadth of media offerings in New York, having one owner directing news coverage of three of the largest publications cannot help but narrow the landscape." She thinks Murdoch is taking the Journal in wrong directions and with his extremely hands-on nature, "What prayer is there for Newsday -- a small suburban gem that nurtures writers, investigative reporters and columnists, and takes its watchdog role seriously?"

She believes that the FCC needs to step in and rein in Murdoch. But she's not optimistic that will happen.

--Noel Rubinton

Could Rupert Murdoch bring Newsday back into New York as a way to bludgeon Mort Zuckerman's Daily News? That's a theory advanced by Lauren Rich Fine, a veteran former Merrill Lynch newspaper and internet stock analyst who now is at Kent State University’s College of Communication and Information.

Fine writes, in paidcontent.org, about Murdoch's current hyperactive run of newspaper hunting in the New York market. She said there could be advantages in joint production of his various papers and even in television cross-promotion. But she has worries: "I would have concern about his using the power of the press to promote his own agenda. I think the FCC will have a hard time accepting this but question whether they can withstand any potential pressure to push it through to save another newspaper."

Fine's other worry is about News Corp. shareholders and whether they'd be well served by all this money being spent on newspapers.

--Noel Rubinton

A call has gone up to protect the interests of Long Island residents in a sale of Newsday.

According to a proposal from Jaci Clement, head of the Fair Media Council, Nassau and Suffolk residents should chip in to fund a non-profit that would own the paper. "In return," she says, "the newspaper could focus on taking care of the community and reinvest the profit into the newspaper. That hasn’t happened here in a very long time." She doesn't give any firm financing details, but suggests that even something as mundane as people donating their daily Starbucks expenses could help.

Clement writes: "So what we have here is a grand opportunity for Long Island to lead the way in the future of the news media, much in the same way we gave birth to the ’burbs and coddled aviation. Instead of allowing another mega media company to acquire Newsday and lose what’s left of the voice Long Island needs to bind this region together, we need to seriously explore other options."

--Noel Rubinton

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Fortune's Devin Leonard says Sam Zell, owner of Tribune, is up against it: "Nobody's timing was better at the top of the last boom than Sam Zell. Just before the credit markets collapsed, he sold his real estate empire for $36 billion. Now Zell is trying to sell newspapers, and his timing couldn't be worse."

Leonard says that the Zell deal for Tribune, completed less than six months ago, valued the company's publishing division at 7.6 cash flow--a commonly used method for valuing assets. Now it looks like Zell would only get 6 times cash flow for Newsday, always seen as a blue-chip property.

Why is Zell doing this? Leonard says it's because of the necessity to pay down debt in a business where far less cash is being thrown off than was expected.

--Noel Rubinton

Rupert Murdoch may be trying to act like the winner in the Newsday sweepstakes, but he doesn't seem to be at the finish line yet. The New York Times is reporting that Mort Zuckerman, the real estate magnate who owns the New York Daily News, is preparing a counter to Murdoch's reported $580 million bid for Newsday. And the paper says that the owners of the New York Observer are planning to meet with the Dolans of Cablevision to talk about a joint bid.

Speaking of the Observer, John Koblin has a fascinating look at Murdoch and his current media interests/obsessions. It's mostly about his moves at the Wall Street Journal and setting his sights on the New York Times, but at the end (near the end of page 4 for those counting) there's a discussion of the Newsday situation.

--Noel Rubinton

The proposed $580 million sale of Newsday to media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, creating a joint venture with his New York Post, could place more financial pressure on New York's other newspapers, according to analyst John Morton.

Combining Newsday with Murdoch's New York Post would allow for significant one-time cost-savings in production and administration, and probably attract more advertising dollars, said Morton, whose Silver Springs, Md. firm has kept track of the newspaper field for many years.

"The Post lack suburban circulation coverage and Newsday lacks coverage in the city, so he [Murdoch] can sell advertising to those looking to reach both audiences," said Morton.

"This deal gives the Post a significant advantage over the Daily News" said Morton. "It's not a good day for the Daily News."

Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman was one of those rumored to be interested in buying Newsday, according to recent news reports, along with Cablevision and the owners of the New York Observer.

Morton said the joint venture with Newsday could play a lesser role in Murdoch's current readership battle between his recently purchased and revamped Wall Street Journal against The New York Times. He said the Times draws a comparably small portion of its advertising and circulation from the audiences who read Newsday and the New York Post.

--Thomas Maier

The talk is that Rupert Murdoch is closing in on a deal to take control of Newsday from Sam Zell. Among those buzzing is The Wall Street Journal, whose story says that Murdoch seems willing to help Zell make the deal as "tax efficient" as possible. Tribune would keep a stake of 5% or less in a complicated transaction that insiders say could still unravel. Federal regulators would be certain to scrutinize the consolidation for Murdoch, who already owns the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and two television stations in the local market.

The Chicago Tribune's story called it an "agreement in principle" between Zell and Murdoch, but said there was "cleanup" work remaining before an official announcement.

In The New York Times, a Reuters story gave a few other details, such as several meetings between Zell, Murdoch and a "senior banker."

--Noel Rubinton

Marcum & Kliegman, the Melville-based accounting firm, is expanding into the executive-search business.

It seemed like a natural for an accounting firm because of the current shortage of accountants. But a spokesman said the shortage wasn’t the primary reason for the new division. Instead, the accounting firm is hoping to find high-level employees for companies in a variety of industries, said its director of human resources, Richard Paris, who has been named president of M&K Executive Search.

“It is our goal to find the people who possess the precise skill set and qualifications that a client is looking for,” he said.

The executive-search division isn’t Marcum’s first foray into a non-accounting business. The firm also has an Internet-security division that helps companies to protect sensitive data.

Entrepreneurs may be bragging a lot next week, which marks National Small Business Week. And they have a lot to crow about.

Here are some little-known facts from the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, the statistical arm of the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents more than 600,000 businesses nationwide.

Small, innovative firms produce 13 times more patents per employee than large firms, and the small companies’ patents are twice as likely as large firms’ to be among the one percent most cited.

Ninety-one percent of small-business owners contributed to their community in the last year through volunteering, donations or other contributions, or all three.

The estimated average value of contributions totals $6,600 per small employer, for a total of about $40 billion nationwide.

Thirty-seven percent who volunteer also hold an office, including a board position, in one or more community organizations.

A large percentage of small business owners is registered to vote: 95 percent; 84 percent vote and 3 percent run for elective office.

Consumers aren’t the only ones giving the current economy a vote of no- confidence. Chief executive officers around the country are also losing faith.

The Conference Board’s CEO confidence index of current economic conditions fell to 38 in the first quarter, the lowest since 2000. It compared with 53 a year ago. A reading of more than 50 points reflects more postive than negative responses.

“CEOs’ assessment of current conditions suggest we’re still mired in a period of extremely slow growth,” said Lynn Franco, director of the business group’s Consumer Research Center.

As a result she said just 25 percent of the CEOs surveyed plan to increase hiring at their company, vs. 40 percent last year.

For more on the business group’s index go to: www.conference-board.org.

www.conference-board.org.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

With college graduations just weeks away, it's time to talk job opportunities and career success.

The Long Island Advertising Club will hold a job fair for prospective interns and freelancers, as part of its effort to keep talent on Long Island.

The fair will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Farmingdale State College’s Roosevelt Hall. The fair is open to local college students looking for internships. It’s also open to freelancers. Area ad agencies and corporate marketing departments have been invited.

For more information go to:
www.liac.org

If you’re a recent grad looking for a job, you might want to consider some tips for success before the big job interview. Here are a few from Peter Handal, president and chief executive Dale Carnegie Training in Hauppauge.

-Expect the unexpected: Be quick, attentive and flexible from Day One. And tackle new challenges with composure and enthusiasm.

-Project a positive attitude: “You may be overwhelmed for frustrated at first,” he says, “but try to remain helpful and optimistic.

-Show eagerness to learn. Listen attentively and ask questions. Search for creative ways to contribute to more productive work.

-Make personal connections. Get to know your boss and co-workers to enhance our work experience.

-Get organized. “Working regular hours, you may not be able to pull the all-nighters you could in college,” he says.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

When it comes to liquid natural gas terminals in the water, Broadwater is far from the only game in town. Just in the metropolitan area, there are two other proposals, both in the Atlantic Ocean. One is off the coast of New Jersey, and other is the Atlantic Sea Island Group plan off the coast of Long Island. And nationally, there are several existing plants, using a technology that is accepted in some places and bitterly opposed in other places--such as Long Island.

--Noel Rubinton

Over the weekend Newsday noted that Valley Stream resident Helen Smith turned 100, quite a feat indeed. The year of her birth, 1908, also marked the beginnings of Galkin Automated Products in West Babylon. The company celebrated 100 years last month.

While reaching 100 is still unusual for people, it’s downright extraordinary for companies. Most small businesses fail in the first five years of life. But Galkin, which primarily makes machinery used to manufacture mattresses, is among the lucky few to reach five and beyond.

Joseph Galkin started the company after seeing how companies struggled to do industrial work with conventional sewing machines. In 1972 Charlie Block bought the company. Today, his son, Paul, is president and CEO. How does it feel to be at the helm of a 100-year-old company? Paul Galkin had plenty to say:

“It makes us feel very proud. 100 years in business creates a very different sense of accomplishment. It makes me think in a historical context. I mostly think about the people and businesses that have passed through here and have had the company help them in some way. So many people have had their lives enriched or enhanced through their experience with Galkin Automated Products. I guess it makes us realize that what we work for on a daily basis has a real impact.”

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

The world of Sam Zell, owner of Tribune, continues to be scrutinized. The conventional wisdom is that in the short term he needs to sell at least two major assets to be able to pay down his debt now that cash flow has been so reduced by declining revenues.

Today the New York Times weighs in with an analyis of Zell and Tribune, reporting that Zell is likely to sell an asset other than the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field in the next months. That asset, the Times said, could well be Newsday, though the complication is that Zell is pushing for a complicated non-cash deal so as to minimize his tax consequences.

Newsday, analysts tell the Times, is the kind of company that Zell needs for the long-term, but it is also the kind of company that would generate enough money to pay down Tribune's huge debt. Mike Simonton, senior director at Fitch Ratings, told the Times: "There is absolutely a paradox there." For the full story, click here.

--Noel Rubinton

The media drumbeat about Sam Zell and his situation with Tribune continues. If you haven't followed it closely, he's got a lot of challenges...ahem, opportunities. Between a media transformation where ads are migrating from newspapers, an extremely soft economy and more, he're reportedly rethinking his game plan--including possibly selling Newsday.

Reuters has done the latest cataloguing of them. Zell, at a real estate conference this week, wouldn't talk about Tribune--he has an April 17 conference call coming on the subject. But he did have this to say about the publishing business, joking to the audience that going from property to newspapers was like "going from leprosy to cancer." For the full story, click here.

--Noel Rubinton

If health-care costs are the 800-pound gorilla in your business, you might want to clear your schedule for a Hauppauge Industrial Association forum on April 8 that hopes to provide solutions to the spiraling costs of medical benefits.

A panel of experts will tackle the topic: “Are Rising Health Care Costs Killing Our Business?”

The program is aimed at business owners, health-care professionals and others responsible for benefits in their company.

For costs and other information call Kelly Gray at 631-543-5355 or email her at kgray@hia-li.org.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Workers in Queens fattened up their wallets more than any other employees in the largest counties around the state, including Nasau and Suffolk Island, according to new federal data.

Average weekly wages in Queens jumped 12.7 percent to $886, in the second quarter of 2007, compared with a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase was the highest in the state and the second highest in the country among large counties, meaning those with at least 75,000 jobs.

In Nassau wages rose 5.9 percent in the same period to an aveage $953 and 4.1 percent in Suffolk to an average $891. Manhattan had 6.4 percent wage increase to an average $1,540 weekly.

Queens and Saratoga had the highest employment growth rate among the 18 large counties in the state - 2.3 percent. That compares with a mere 0.8 percent in both Nassau and Suffolk. Manhattan’s job growth rate was 1.9.

For more regional economic news go to:

http://www.bls.gov/ro2/home.htm

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Clear Skies Solar is going through a growth spurt.

In the past several weeks, the Massapequa Park solar-power technology company has announced that: it has signed a letter of intent to acquire a California solar-technology company; has a $6.5 million deal to provide a solar-power facility for a suburban Atlanta housing project; and has named a new president.

Clear Skies is planning to acquire Assured Power & Communications Corp. Clear Skies didn’t disclose a price tag for the deal, which is contingent on a host of factors, including patent verifications. The agreement in Georgia calls for Clear Skies to provide a solar-power generation facility to a project of SmartGrowth Opportunity Fund.

To manage this next-stage growth, the company has hired Tom Oliveri, who will
take over from Ezra Green as president. Oliveri once headed Global Payment Technologies, which designs and manufacturers currency-validation systems.

Clear Skies has 16 employees. It posted $300,000 in revenue in 2007.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen