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Journalists of Color Hit in Tribune Layoffs (Dinosaur Media DeathWatchâ„¢)
Maynard Institute ^ | August 15, 2008 | Richard Prince

Posted on 08/18/2008 11:03:02 AM PDT by abb

Paper "Is Where Minority Reporters Can Go to Die"

The Chicago Tribune laid off more than 40 newsroom employees on Friday, including a disproportionate number of journalists of color, according to newsroom employees there.

"Coupled with last week's voluntary exit of more than 30 journalists," the additional cutback "means the paper has cut 80 people from its editorial staff as part of cost-cutting campaign at all of parent Tribune Co.'s newspapers," Phil Rosenthal wrote on the Tribune's Web site.

Among those called in Friday and told their jobs were eliminated was Ray Quintanilla, a 14-year Tribune veteran. "It's sad because if you look at the list, it's heavily minority. It looks bad," he told Journal-isms. He said his marching orders came a day after he challenged a powerful white Tribune columnist who for the fifth time had hired a white assistant, asking the columnist if he had considered any people of color. He recalled that owner Sam Zell had told employees to question authority.

Quintanilla said the columnist publicly challenged him to a fight, and said he has filed a complaint with the Tribune's human relations department.

The reporter said he could not prove his layoff was related to the Thursday incident, but said, "It just smells bad to me."

Neither the columnist nor Tribune editor Gerould W. Kern could be reached for comment.

Other departing journalists of color included Norman O. Unger, an assistant editor; Mark Hinojosa, assistant managing editor for multimedia; Paul Iwanaga, a photo editor; Michael Martinez, Los Angeles correspondent; Gentry Sleets, graphic artist; and editors Donna Pierce, Emeri B. O'Brien and Jeffrey Williams, among others, according to a list compiled by religion writer Manya Brachear and other newsroom sources.

Hinojosa's exit follows the departure earlier this year of another high-ranking Latino at the newspaper, George de Lama, the Tribune's managing editor for news.

"I was looking forward to earning my 20-year pin in about 6 months, but alas: POOOOOFFFFFF. . . and he's gone with lots of great memories," Unger said in a note to colleagues.

"To all my friends," read the subject line in an e-mail from Williams. "Who have been family for nearly 20 years," his message began, "especially those on the copy desk and in the DuPage bureau, take care. And remember who you are: the world’s greatest journalists and the finest human beings I’ve ever known."

"'Endings are never easy,' Tribune editor Gerould W. Kern said in a note to staff, adding that 'with the departure of 80 individuals through today, the editorial staff of the Chicago Tribune stands at 480, the largest news organization in Chicago by a wide margin and one of the largest and most accomplished in the United States,'" Rosenthal's story continued. "'While painful, these staff reductions are necessary to establish the foundation for a sustainable future.'

"The latest round of cutbacks is the paper's fourth since late 2005, when the newsroom was said to have had 670 positions. Other departments at the paper have been making cuts, as well.'

Quintanilla, 46, said he expected more from the paper after he returned from covering Iraq in the early days of the war, which began in 2003. "The Tribune is where minority reporters can go to die. They get lost in the bureaucracy and they're ignored," he told Journal-isms.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dbm; dinomedia; layoffs; newspapers; tribune
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1 posted on 08/18/2008 11:03:03 AM PDT by abb
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To: 04-Bravo; aimhigh; andyandval; Arizona Carolyn; backhoe; Bahbah; bert; bilhosty; Caipirabob; ...

ping


2 posted on 08/18/2008 11:03:42 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb

Our company president created a Director of Diversity position and hired a woman of color from marketing. She reported to the President and attended all of the VP meetings. Her office was right next door to the President. It was a really high visibility position and he let us know that Diversity was extremely important to the company.

When income went south, she got punted back to marketing and her office went to yet another white guy.


3 posted on 08/18/2008 11:07:31 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: abb
"Quintanilla, 46, said he expected more from the paper after he returned from covering Iraq..."

i'm thinking of naming my next son "quintanilla" so that he won't bear the brunt of youthful teasing. wait, oh never mind.

4 posted on 08/18/2008 11:08:17 AM PDT by robomatik ((wine plug: renascentvineyards.com cabernet sauvignon, riesling, and merlot))
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To: abb

http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2008/08/st-pete-times-s.html
St. Pete Times staff told no layoffs coming, after strong response to early retirement offer

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/news-bites/2008/08/17/tribune-casualty-list/
The Tribune casualty list

http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0808/Tribunes_Tackett_leaves_for_Bloomberg.html?showall
Tribune’s Tackett leaves for Bloomberg

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/17/sunday/main4356479.shtml
Inside The National Enquirer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/business/media/18carr.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1219082735-EuI3BqIrQMuKVYUfRPopmA
The Enquirer: Even Scandal Can Be News

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12594.html
McCain protests NBC coverage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/17/AR2008081702373.html
The ‘Frill’ Is Gone: Papers Forced to Cut D.C. Bureaus


5 posted on 08/18/2008 11:10:19 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb

Massive Layoffs At Newspaper. Useless Morons Hardest Hit.


6 posted on 08/18/2008 11:11:04 AM PDT by gridlock (Barack Obama is the Sanjaya Malakar of American Politics...)
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To: abb

And just where are these folks going to find a job where they can continue to bash the republicans? Has anyone checked with NBC or MSNBC for these fired has beens? Maybe now they will learn what the “real world” has to offer someone with no talent and no idea of where their next dollar is coming from. “Just desserts” sounds good to me right now.


7 posted on 08/18/2008 11:13:31 AM PDT by geezerwheezer (get up boys, we're burnin' daylight!!!)
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To: abb

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=88665
Tribune Co. Edges Closer to Default

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=88667
Red Ink: Gannett Cuts 1,000 Staffers

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=88664
Zucker: Reports Of Net TV’s Death Greatly Exaggerated

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=88660
CW Owner Acme May Delist From Nasdaq


8 posted on 08/18/2008 11:16:51 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb
It's sad because if you look at the list, it's heavily minority.

How can any group of people be characterized as "heavily minority"?

9 posted on 08/18/2008 11:18:18 AM PDT by agere_contra ("We are all Georgians" - John McCain)
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To: abb

Somebody should do a USATODAY-esque pie chart: “Journos Of Color Who Are Getting PWN3D”


10 posted on 08/18/2008 11:18:26 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: agere_contra

A very elite group, I’d say.


11 posted on 08/18/2008 11:20:43 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: abb
Hey Ray, you can call me Ray but youse don't have to call me Jay.

Better Call the Obama Man cause he's got all the race cards gathered up to play against John McCain.

12 posted on 08/18/2008 11:21:39 AM PDT by OKIEDOC (OBAMA aka Post Turtle the Forest Gump of American Politics ABORTION -Liberal Child Abuse.)
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To: abb

“The Chicago Tribune laid off more than 40 newsroom employees on Friday, including a disproportionate number of journalists of color....”

...has it occurred to anyone that the reason the people “of color” got the boot is because they were the weakest performers in the dept...and maybe they were always pretty sorry anyway and were merely EEOC hires from the git go...now that times are tough, the dead wood is getting thinned out...it’s survival of the fittest...and it’s only going to get worse.


13 posted on 08/18/2008 11:23:28 AM PDT by STONEWALLS
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To: abb

Were the Sunday comics of color affected?


14 posted on 08/18/2008 11:24:57 AM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: abb

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=30622
Tribune axes more newsroom jobs

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080816/ap_on_en_tv/oly_tv_nbc_s_olympics
NBC’s likely hit its peak with Phelps leaving

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121901450793948103.html
GM Won’t Buy Advertising Time For 2009 Oscars

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/technology/16tube.html
Some Media Companies Choose to Profit From Pirated YouTube Clips

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003839975
Idaho Falls Paper Drops AP — Blames New Rates

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003840015
Morningstar: Battered Newspaper Shares Still The ‘Market’s Most Overvalued Stocks’

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/sports/olympics/18nbc.html?_r=1&ref=media&oref=slogin
A Surprise Winner at the Olympic Games in Beijing: NBC


15 posted on 08/18/2008 11:25:57 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=130363
Uh-oh, Where Did Those Newspaper Web Ads Go?
Tribune, Scripps and Lee Report Declining Online Revenue


16 posted on 08/18/2008 11:33:34 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb
"...Quintanilla...said his marching orders came a day after he challenged a powerful white Tribune columnist who for the fifth time had hired a white assistant, asking the columnist if he had considered any people of color....the columnist publicly challenged him to a fight, and said he has filed a complaint with the Tribune's human relations department.

Where does this guy get off trying to tell another columnist who to hire for an assistant, for pete's sake, and then accuse him of racism when he doesn't follow this asshat's diversity demand?

The reporter (Quintanilla) said he could not prove his layoff was related to the Thursday incident, but said, "It just smells bad to me."

What smells bad is Quintanilla's entitlement attitude. People who insert their noses into matters that don't concern them SHOULD be fired.

17 posted on 08/18/2008 11:34:23 AM PDT by 3AngelaD (They screwed up their own countries so bad they had to leave, and now they're here screwing up ours)
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To: abb
...including a disproportionate number of journalists of color...

In whose opinion and what color? Beige? Tan? Flamingo pink?.................

18 posted on 08/18/2008 11:37:33 AM PDT by Red Badger (All that carbon in all that oil and coal was once in the atmosphere. We're just putting it back.....)
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To: Red Badger

19 posted on 08/18/2008 11:42:35 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: Red Badger
This one's more better.


20 posted on 08/18/2008 11:44:04 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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