Posted on 03/10/2006 8:28:15 AM PST by abb
NEW YORK The Washington Post plans to cut at least 80 newsroom jobs through attrition and buyouts, according to sources at the paper who said editors began giving staffers the bad news on Thursday in meetings and will continue today.
"My understanding is that the editors and managing editors brought this up with other issues of downsizing, but with no layoffs," said one source in the metro staff, which got first word of the news in a meeting Thursday. "It looks like through attrition and buyouts."
Another source in the national staff said a meeting was being held this morning to give them the bad news, with similar gatherings throughout the day. "Eighty through attrition and buyouts," the source said. "They are going staff by staff."
The paper has about 800 editorial employees, many represented by the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild. Rick Weiss, a Post reporter and Guild unit chair at the paper, could not be reached for comment this morning.
Other cost cuts also are being rumored, including the eventual closing of at least two foreign bureaus and changes to some other overseas bureaus that would have staffers working out of their homes.
Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. and Publisher Bo Jones did not return calls seeking comment.
Post spokesman Eric Grant offered no comment when asked about the pending cuts or any official announcement, saying only, "not at this point." Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
It's a shame to say, but the papers are only anachronisms because they have an agenda, and said agenda is to promote public policy by self congratulations. If they simply reported the story, with a slant toward sanity, I would wish them nothing but health and wealth. As it is, they are but cesspits of obfuscation at best, and I am referring to our "conservative" bird cage liner as well.
darn the luck....
;o)
These media woes represent a small part of our severe economic depression. The American people long for the relative peace and prosperity that of the Jimmy Carter era. Malaise and misery best describe the yearning desire of the American people. Seventy percent of Americans now lack the income, assets, or credit to afford adequate foodstuffs and consequently go to bed hungry. How do you think that they can afford a newspaper, let alone a television set? Americans continue to lose their jobs because Bush lowered their taxes. When the ever-fewer Americans still employed at ever-plunging wages pay 58% of their income to the government, anger boils in their hearts that they do not pay 85%.
Oh, yeah, and we lost the war against the terrorists. Bush lied and thousands of Americans died. He sends our boys to war so that the terrorists may kill them without the armor necessary to defend themselves. Even our soldiers know that the terrorists have defeated them at all their pursuits. Bush even conceded our Port Authorities to the Enemy as part of the surrender package. Meanwhile, he spies on Americans to take them away to some gulag for torture if they dare speak against him. Saddam Hussein is a nice guy by comparison; indeed, Bush lacks the superior moral standing of Adolf Hitler. He cannot even steer the tempests of the sea properly because he hates black people enough to kill them.
And you wonder why the media industry has declined? I live in Oklahoma--a veritable bubble of prosperity inside a strife-ridden nation of destitute paupers starving in the streets. It's worse than your run-of-the-mill Third World country in most of America. Or so they tell me. So why would they not share in the fate of their compatriots? And if the rest of America is much more like the Oklahoma bubble, then why would we want to watch them talk down our country? Why would we want to feel depressed?
instead of the 80, how about just Bob Woodward?
What goes around, comes around. It flat warms my heart to see the MSM take these hits.
About Oklahoma......... a short story.
*******
2002, my Bride and I passed through Oklahoma during a month long coast to coast trip on one of our Harley's. I fly a USA flag and POW flag off of the back of the bike. We came to a road construction area and proceeded along at about 15 mph.
The construction crew all stood at attention and solemnly saluted the flag as we passed by. Even the guys that were operating the heavy machinery, got out of their rigs, stood on fenders or tires and gave the flag a salute.
This was a construction zone of about 6 miles and by the time I got partially through it, I had tears in my eyes from witnessing such a patriotic display. You have many reasons to be proud of your state, I can't say the same for mine.
HAHAH! You need to get a job writing editorials ... er, I mean , news ... for the Post. Of course, it's not much of a job these days, what with the layoffs and all ...
These are great days for information and choices. The internet has revolutionized the way we get our news. Sitting down with a morning paper that says the same thing as every other morning paper won't cut it with the internet genie out of the bottle.
I wish it was just their message people were responding to, but there are more than enough liberals in DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia to keep the Post afloat. Technology has brought about the change, not just their shameless liberalism.
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