On June 26, the same day the Portland Press Herald announced 36 job cuts and the closing of four news bureaus, it wasn’t all gloom and doom at the newspaper’s headquarters.

Well, actually it was.

But you’d never know it by the cheery memo sent to all employees –

The mastheads at the Courier Publications weeklies in Maine’s mid-coast will undergo some dramatic changes next week, according to a reliable source. On Monday at noon, Village NetMedia will take over as owner of

Fewer reporters. And maybe fewer bureaus.

The Portland Press Herald is losing seven journalists – reducing its staff to just 18 reporters – and closing as many as four bureaus in

The good news: Not many Portland Press Herald employees are going to get laid off on July 1.

The bad news: About 25 percent of the paper's reporting staff has applied for and been accepted in a voluntary termination program. According to a reliable source, at least six reporters, including several

Hurting unit: Rebekah Metzler, a reporter for the Lewiston Sun Journal, was seriously injured on June 19 at the Lost Valley Ski Resort in Auburn, while taking a ride

Take a deep breath: From the June 18 issue of the Original Irregular, a weekly newspaper published in Kingfield:
"Green ideas have produced numerous political ribbon cutting ceremonies over the decades, but seldom do these green events get to enjoy long term anniversaries such as

The Blethen Maine Newspapers, owners of the Portland Press Herald and other dailies in the state, filed suit on June 17 in U.S. District Court in Portland seeking to resolve the legal question of whether its contract with Local 128 of the Newspaper Guild is binding on future owners.

The union contends language in the agreement clearly requires a new owner to abide by the agreement, which runs through 2011. The Guild represents most employees at the Portland paper.

The Courier newspapers are in the Soup. The Village Soup, that is.

Village NetMedia Inc., which operates the Village Soup Web sites and publishes the Waldo County Citizen and Knox County Times weeklies, announced today that it has purchased rival Courier Publications, a chain of six weekly

Simple thing: Here's the rule: If a news organization has a conflict of interest or the appearance of one, disclose it. Always. No exceptions. To do anything less reduces the credibility of the journalism being produced by that outlet. Clear enough? So, how come the Blethen Maine Newspapers can't seem to get it right?

Old and in the way. The Portland Press Herald, faced with declining revenues and increasing expenses, is offering its workers a "voluntary separation plan," according to a story in the June 10 edition.