Posted on 07/18/2008 1:26:39 PM PDT by abb
The Baltimore Sun is laying off nine people in its newsroom after accepting what a union representative said seemed like most or all of the employee buyout applications it received last week.
Of those forced to leave, four are editorial assistants, four are two-year interns and one is a reporter, the company told employees in a meeting held Friday morning.
The Sun told the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild that nine others in the advertising section and call center are also being laid off. Tanika White, co-chair of the Guild, said Friday afternoon management only informed her of the 18 union jobs it was cutting.
The union, which represents about 400 workers at the company, was also told 43 in the newsroom had their buyouts accepted, White said. In addition, two reporters who put in their notice months ago were being counted as “voluntary layoffs,” and a Sun manager was being transferred to one of the company’s community newspapers, bringing the newsroom’s total job loss to 55.
Judy Berman, senior vice president of marketing for the Baltimore Sun Media Group, would not disclose exact job loss totals across the company, but said in a statement the newspaper had “achieved its workforce reduction total.”
Last month, The Sun announced it would cut 60 jobs from its newsroom — a reduction of about 20 percent — as part of a sweeping cost-cutting plan within its parent Tribune Co.’s nine major daily newspapers. A total of 100 positions were to be eliminated across the media group, which publishes The Sun and several community newspapers.
Berman noted the company worked to minimize the number of involuntary separations and that there were still more than 300 newsgathering employees within the Sun Media Group.
White said the lower number of layoffs was achieved because collaboration between managers and the union helped employees understand their options.
“I think that it could have been far worse, but we are still saddened to see so many of our colleagues leaving, whether voluntarily or involuntarily,” she said. “If you just look at the newsroom, we’re talking 55 people who will no longer be doing the journalism that this community has come to expect from the Baltimore Sun.”
Those laid off have the option to leave immediately or stay until they are officially off the company payroll on Aug. 15.
The Orlando Sentinel, another Tribune paper facing a 20 percent newsroom job cut, laid off 16 of its staff this week. Ten of those cut had sought a severance package, and more cuts are to come.
Those who were laid off at The Sun will receive a package similar to the buyout offered — one week’s pay for every six months of service — minus health benefits. White said the union does not expect any more cuts to be made for this round.
http://wbal.com/stories/templates/news.aspx?articleid=9731&zoneid=2
Baltimore Sun: ‘A Small Number Of Involuntary Separations Did Occur’
Friday, July 18, 2008
WBAL Radio as reported by Robert Lang and Scott Wykoff
Tanika White heads the Newspaper Guild at The Sun.
While not releasing any specific names or number of employees impacted, the Baltimore Sun reports it has achieved its workforce reduction goals.
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ping
Die leftwing media Die!!!
:D
....the Sun gets pinched....good....that Leftist mess deserved it.
It would be interesting to see what the unemployment rate for Journalists/DNC operatives is.
Are J-schools seeing a drop off in new students?
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
They practically PAY YOU to take their paper. I still don’t understand why my parents get that rag, I guess for just the local stuff (county) and for starting fires in the winter time. Yes, they get the Washington Times too!!!
I wouldn’t even use the Sun for TP in a pinch.
...when we lived in Howard County I took the Sun but had to drive up to the gas station for the Wash Times...reading about Balltimore every day was depressing....Black democrats haven’t governed very well there...Howard Co. is still OK but was getting so PC that it was a relief to move.
The Baltimore Sun is a worthless piece of trash. I pick up the Washington Times at a Royal Farms store 3 blocks from my house.
Would like a total of the amount of “newspaper folks” have been let go in the last say 18 months?
Sure makes me feel good to know all those leftists has lost their job.
You lucky bastard...
Raoul's Second Law of Journalism
Ignoring Bias = Bankruptcy
Now they can be those poor disadvantaged folks that they always like to write sympathetic articles about. Gee, that wasn't very compassionate of me.
I hope you are one of the very successful folks the newsfolk never write about.
I hope you are gloating as you relax and enjoy your retirement while old newsfolk are wroking as flagmen on road projects.
Judi Hanford
http://eyeonthesentinel.blogspot.com/
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Nationwide, about 6,400 newsroom employees have been axed in 2008. I’ve read that 62 percent of the San Jose Mercury News staff is gone. Don’t know if that is all editorial, but in either case that’s a slaughter.
Florida accounts for 12.2 percent of the total paper cuts, which is not surprising given a sucky regional economy, especially housing. We are in one of Florida’s famous boom and bust funks.
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Maryland “Freak State” PING!
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