#internal memos

The memo, which is signed by the ministry’s acting director of employment standards, Joe Boeswald, says that as of Sept. 3, staff should “not initiate any new inspections.” It also says the ministry will defer inspection and prosecution training for staff who have not yet received it. Employment standards inspections deal with basic workplace issues such as unpaid wages and overtime. Proactive inspections, which are initiated at the behest of the ministry, are far more effective at recovering unpaid wages, including public holiday pay and overtime, than when individual workers file complaints, according to the ministry’s own data.

Andrew Langille, an employment and labour lawyer with East Toronto Community Legal Services, called the move “very troubling.”“Inspections are important because they are the backbone of enforcement of the ESA (Employment Standards Act),” he said. “It’s really the only way to detect widespread violations of the minimum social standards other than employees reporting violations themselves.”

According to the memo dated Aug. 30, the move is motivated by a significant backlog of employment standards claims filed by workers — exacerbated by a “discretionary spending freeze and subsequent suspension of recruitment” at the ministry.In response to questions from the Star, a ministry spokesperson said the “measures taken are temporary and will be re-evaluated as wait times decrease.”

“The Ministry of Labour continues to identify and conduct proactive Health and Safety inspections and other safety initiatives on specific industry sectors to raise awareness and help prevent injuries and fatalities,” spokesperson Janet Deline said in an email. “We also continue to conduct reactive investigations in response to workplace fatalities, critical injuries, work refusals and complaints.”

Corporate Memo Writing Guide.

The Complete Guide To Writing Corporate Memos, by Vickie Elmer, Quartz Blog

http://qz.com/153401/complete-guide-to-writing-corporate-memos/

A recent all-staff internal memo from two senior Yahoo executives addressed its readers as ‘pilgrim,’ then ‘sailor,’ and mentioned ‘T-Rex,’ ‘The Itsy-Bitsy Pterodactyl,’ the ‘hippocampian wagons’ and ‘Ayn Randian Objectivism’ all in one paragraph.

That widely

So sometimes I'll get e-mail conversation strings in my inbox since doctors CC the whole office when emailing about patients so everyone knows what's going on. I open up my email this morning and saw this e-mail conversation.

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MO is a female administrative assistant.

DR G is a male doctor.

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MO: Pt wants to know if supplements are ok to take today (other than iron, MPU told her "no") Also, should she remove her "S string" before appt tomorrow?

DR G: Ok for supplements. I don't know what an S-string is???

MO: I don't either. She started to tell me it had to do with her vagina????

While we're at it, let's go ahead and post Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes' memo to staff as well, in which he shares the news about "the plan that will result in Time Inc. being an independent, publicly traded company." 

I want to share with you the news that our Board of Directors has authorized us to proceed with a plan that will result in Time Inc. being an independent, publicly traded company.

Time Inc. is a great and accomplished journalistic institution, the undisputed leader in its industry, and home to some of the best brands and most talented people in media. Under the proposed structure, none of that will change and all of Time Inc.’s magazines will stay in the portfolio. This decision comes after a thorough review of options that would position Time Inc. for the most attractive growth opportunities while also best serving the interests of Time Warner Inc. and our shareholders. As you know, Time Warner successfully completed similar separations in the past few years with Time Warner Cable and AOL. Both of those companies have thrived independently, and I anticipate the same for Time Inc.

We expect to complete the spin before year-end, and management will share more details of what that means for the company and for you as soon as they are available. Laura has suggested to me that we find another CEO for the new public company, and I have agreed. She will however be staying on through this process and leading Time Inc. as it prepares to become a stand-alone company and helping  me and Time Warner management on the CEO search.  Laura has been a great partner who has given Time Inc. forward momentum over the past year, and I want to express my deep gratitude for her leadership.

Although change can be unsettling, I am confident that you have the fortitude to stay focused on what Time Inc. does better than anyone: produce great journalism that your readers and audiences love. That great legacy will live on as Time Inc. embarks on this new journey as a publicly-traded company.

Departing Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang sent this memo to staff in regards to the publishing company's spinning-off into an independent, publicly-traded company.

Today’s news that Time Warner plans to spin off Time Inc. is something that everyone is just beginning to digest. While there are many questions that can only be answered in time, one thing is already clear: the hard work we have done over the past year in maintaining our core business while at the same time becoming more digitally focused has positioned the company well. Time Inc. has incredible talent and great brands that will continue to lead our industry.

The planned spin-off has also made me reflect on what is the best path for me and the company going forward.  After considerable thought, I have decided that taking the company through a transition to the public markets is not where my passion lies. Jeff has been extremely supportive and I am committed to working together with him on recruiting the right person to lead Time Inc. at the spin. 

I want to thank all of you for your support over the past year.  You welcomed me warmly and jumped in enthusiastically as we charted a course. I look forward to working with you as we continue to make progress.

This email from Tina hit staff inboxes a little before 7:00am this morning. Newsweek's going all digital. Last edition will be the December 31st issue. Ch-ch-changes.

To: All Staff

We are announcing this morning an important development at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the U.S. will be our December 31st issue. Meanwhile, Newsweek will expand its rapidly growing tablet and online presence, as well as its successful global partnerships and events business.

Newsweek Global, as the all-digital publication will be named, will be a single, worldwide edition targeted for a highly mobile, opinion-leading audience who want to learn about world events in a sophisticated context. Newsweek Global will be supported by paid subscriptions and will be available through e-readers for both tablet and the Web, with select content available on The Daily Beast.

Four years ago we launched The Daily Beast. Two years later, we merged our business with the iconic Newsweek magazine - which The Washington Post Company had sold to Dr. Sidney Harman. Since the merger, both The Daily Beast and Newsweek have continued to post and publish distinctive journalism and have demonstrated explosive online growth in the process. The Daily Beast now attracts more than 15 million unique visitors a month, a 70 percent increase in the past year alone - a healthy portion of this traffic generated each week by Newsweek’s strong original journalism.

At the same time, our business has been increasingly affected by the challenging print advertising environment, while Newsweek’s online and e-reader content has built a rapidly growing audience through the Apple, Kindle, Zinio and Nook stores as well on The Daily Beast. Tablet-use has grown rapidly among our readers and with it the opportunity to sustain editorial excellence through swift, easy digital distribution - a superb global platform for our award-winning journalism.  By year’s end, tablet users in the United States alone are expected to exceed 70 million, up from 13 million just two years ago.

Currently, 39 percent of Americans say they get their news from an online source, according to a Pew Research Center study released last month. In our judgment, we have reached a tipping point at which we can most efficiently and effectively reach our readers in all-digital format. This was not the case just two years ago. It will increasingly be the case in the years ahead.  

It is important that we underscore what this digital transition means and, as importantly, what it does not. We are transitioning Newsweek, not saying goodbye to it. We remain committed to Newsweek and to the journalism that it represents. This decision is not about the quality of the brand or the journalism, that is as powerful as ever. It is about the challenging economics of print publishing and distribution.

Newsweek is produced by a gifted and tireless team of professionals who have been offering brilliant work consistently throughout a tough period of ownership transition and media disruption. The inexorable move to an all-digital Newsweek comes with an unfortunate reality. Regrettably we anticipate staff reductions and the streamlining of our editorial and business operations both here in the United States and internationally. More details on the new organizational structure will be shared individually in the coming weeks and months.

We realize news of a big change like this will be unsettling. We wish to reassure you the transition is well planned, extremely mindful of the unavoidable impact on our staff and respectful of our readers, advertisers and business partners.

There will be an all-staff town hall meeting at 11am on the editorial side of our floor to answer your questions and address your concerns. 

Tina Brown & Baba Shetty  

A note from Tina Brown (our editor) just hit the ol' inbox in regards to a fun little rumor that went around this morning which said Newsweek would be going--gasp!--all digital this fall.

Tina: 

Barry Diller would like to make it clear that he did not say on the earnings call as reported that Newsweek is going digital in September.

He made the uncontroversial, industry-wide observation that print is moving in the direction of digital.

Below, in summary, are the points he actually made on the IAC earnings call when he was reporting the tremendous results of the company this quarter.

1. The Newsweek brand is strong, and far stronger than it has been in years.

2. We wouldn’t finance The Daily Beast at anywhere near the level of ‘12.

3. That eventually, over time, digital would replace much of print (hardly a controversial revelation).

4. In September we would be evolving our plan for the year ’13, with many options to choose from.

Best,

Tina