Posted on 09/16/2008 3:42:18 PM PDT by abb
Miami Herald Publisher David Landsberg announced in an email to employees this afternoon that the newspaper is cutting 119 jobs in what amounts to the third round of buyouts, according to two newsroom sources.
The cuts are being made across the McClatchy Company, which in total is slashing 1150 positions across the chain.
Landsberg's explanation to employees, issued today at about 4:30 p.m., was dictated to the Pulp by one reporter.
"Today we are announcing plans to reduce our worforce by 119 full-time equivalents, or about 10 percent of all employees," Landsberg wrote. "About 80 full-time and part-time employees will leave the company as a result of this reduction, but we’ll also eliminate many positions that are already vacant. ... [T] he necessity of these painful steps is especially disappointing because we believed the cuts made two months ago would be sufficient to see us through the sharp revenue declines that have beset the newspaper industry."
Here Landsberg was referring to 250 job cuts made at the struggling newspaper in June. Just weeks before that, the newspaper gave buyouts to a small number of newsroom personnel, including veteran writer Martin Merzer.
Shortly after Landsberg's email was sent out, Editor Anders Gyllenhaal sent out his own missive that clarified that “in the newsroom, the reductions will mean the departure of 23 colleagues from positions spread across all desks and disciplines."
The newspaper will offer a buyout -- the same package offered in previous purges -- to about 200 employees, who will have until next Wednesday, September 24, to decided whether or not to take it. The newspaper is having staff meetings today at 5:45 p.m. to discuss this round of buyouts, but sources said they were unsurprised by the announcement.
"We’re past all the stages of death and mourning and denial and rage and we're now in the acceptance mode," said one reporter. "We’re building fucking Edsels in Detroit here. Some of us are going to do this until we die. Or until they kill us. And it looks they’re killing more of us now."
ping
....
they didn't fold.
“We’re building fucking Edsels in Detroit here. Some of us are going to do this until we die. Or until they kill us. And it looks they’re killing more of us now.”
Maybe the Sun-Sentinel has wiped them out.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/689068.html
Miami Herald announces more job cuts
The best “buyout” for an old media type is “Bye - Yer out!”
I think New Times is one of those free rags that gets all its advertising from “escort” services.
Yes, that desciption of the New Times is exactly correct. I can get it for free at “news stands” where I work.
Don’t want to wish ill of people who are losing their jobs, but the Miami Herald brought it upon themselves.
One wonders if the recently announced cuts at the North Carolina papers part of this round or will they now need to cut deeper?
I don’t think the Miami Herald is a particularly bad newspaper, as far as that goes. Nothing great, but nothing terrible either.
This is a new round of cuts. The first round (1400) was announced in June. In my opinion this new round won’t be the last. I see bankruptcy by mid-year ‘09.
good news bump!
The Broward-Palm Beach New Times doesn’t appear concerned about irate readers. The New Times motto “What can they do? Fire us? HAHAHAHHAH”
good
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