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Posted on 05/12/2008 11:39:37 AM PDT by abb
Following up on vows to bring spending in line with its shrinking revenues, The Seattle Times Co. sliced the staff at its flagship newspaper by 125 employees this week.
Of the total, 73 were laid off and 52 left voluntarily, with 51 accepting buyout offers, spokeswoman Corey Digiacinto said.
The Times announced a month ago that, to help save $15 million, it would freeze 60 unfilled positions and lay off up to 131 employees. Voluntary departures trimmed the number of layoffs needed by more than 40 percent, Digiacinto said.
Before this week's cuts, The Times had 1,845 full-time and part-time employees.
In the newsroom, 19 workers accepted buyouts. They included classical-music critic Melinda Bargreen and nightlife writer Tom Scanlon.
Executive Editor David Boardman said the newspaper recognizes classical music and nightlife are important parts of the community, and plans to continue covering both beats.
"We have yet to figure out exactly who and how," he said.
Fifteen newsroom employees were laid off, including most suburban reporters. The Times has closed its news bureaus in Bellevue and Lynnwood and stopped publishing zoned editions for the Eastside and Snohomish County.
Some reporters will work out of a new bureau at the newspaper's production plant in Bothell, Boardman said.
Digiacinto would not provide a breakdown of layoffs and buyouts for other departments.
But the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, the largest union at the paper, said 49 of its members were laid off — 24 in circulation, eight in advertising and two in operations, in addition to the 15 in news.
In addition to the latest cuts, The Times announced earlier this year that it would lay off 17 employees, mostly in circulation.
Advertising revenues at The Times and most other metropolitan newspapers have declined in recent years...
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
ping
But... but... but... who will gather the news? How can we have professional journalizm if no one will buy their paper? We can’t count on bloggers in their pyjamas to report news fairly and accurately, can we?
I didn’t know the Seattle Times was still published.
OH GOD this too rich Thanks ABB
I kinda know about Seattle times LOL!
Is it no wonder those working for the MSM think there is a recession.
If its good enough for their endorsement when government does it, why isn't it good enough for them to do it themselves?
I am just waiting for someone to propose that the government needs to subsidize the mass media, similar to how the British government subsidizes the BBC.
According to the liberal mindset, the problems of newspapers, and the possibility of papers going out of business, will mean that the “truth” will not be getting out to people as it has in years past. So, according to the liberal/socialist mind, the government should subsidize the media so they can carry out their “mission” of proving the free press needed in a free society, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Just waiting for somebody to make an argument like that, because with the downward spiral in the news business, we could see major newspapers and major TV network news divisions going under in the next few years.
“I am just waiting for someone to propose that the government needs to subsidize the mass media, similar to how the British government subsidizes the BBC.”
They floated that one last year.
http://www.cjr.org/feature/the_uncle_sam_solution.php?page=all
Feature — September / October 2007
The Uncle Sam Solution
Can the government help the press? Should it?
By Bree Nordenson
They tried cutting staff by getting rid of conservatives but since that only covered one janitor and his cat they had to get serious about it...
What do you know? Another good news day!
Who says we never get any good news?
Yours truly,
The Woim
Seattle appears to be a two newspaper market with both the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI. Hard to beleive one hasn’t shuttered it’s doors yet.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/05/05/daily74.html
Whoever is running McClatchy has to be the worst business person in America... even worse than the accidental billionaire Paul Allen.
Every one of these hard left liberal newspapers would advise wholeheartedly that the government raise taxes to any level if the government were short of cash.
Why don't they follow that advise in their own situation and simply raise the price of each paper by a Quarter, or more, then it will be happy times with more bonuses, pay raises, benefits and vacations for everyone!
Say WA? Evergreen State ping
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.
Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.
My Wall Street Journal comes in plastic bags that would probably be good for the purpose.
Does anyone outside Fremont read this Seattle socialist rag?....
Perhaps if the Seattle Times and all the other failing newspaper publishers would report the true news and stop their left wing seditionist propaganda now so prevalent among their pages they would find paying readers and advertisers again.
Don't bank on it. The Times won't let you quit. You may quit paying, but the paper keeps coming. They'll keep proposing better and better deals if you'll just continue "subscribing." It's virtually impossible to stop the paper from showing up. These layoffs are really good news. That's 150 fewer lying scumbags wasting perfectly good ink and newsprint. Here's to a full soon-coming bankruptcy!
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