Free Republic

Wow, that was fast. Yesterday I wrote that Deadspin might be dead after one deputy editor was fired and eight other staffers resigned. Today, there’s no longer any doubt that the site is just a brand name without a workforce as the number of staffers who’ve resigned reached 20 Thursday: By Thursday, almost the entire staff — nearly 20 writers and editors — had resigned… The departures shocked fans of the site, which put a new spin on sports coverage for a generation of digital natives. But they were the result of a long buildup of resentment between the journalists...

Half of Sports Illustrated's newsroom has been laid off and the decision was announced to staff this afternoon, NPR reports. News of the widespread cuts was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, and Deadspin accurately reported that 50 percent of the newsroom would be affected. This all comes days after Editor-in-Chief Chris Stone "vacated" his position, as well as a circulated memo preaching optimism from the new editors. Those unfortunate enough to be included in the widespread layoffs are announcing their departures on Twitter. Below is a running list: ...

Another brutal day for journalism.Gannett began slashing jobs all across the country Wednesday in a cost-cutting move that was anticipated even before the recent news that a hedge-fund company was planning to buy the chain.The cuts were not minor.At the Indianapolis Star, three journalists were laid off, including well-known columnist Tim Swarens. At the Knoxville (Tennessee) News Sentinel, University of Tennessee women’s basketball reporter Dan Fleser is out after more than 30 years in sports. The Tennessean cut three positions, including high school sports reporter Michael Murphy. Traci Bauer, executive editor of LoHud (New York), was let go.Six were laid...

Eddie Lampert not only ran the company; he was also its largest creditor and the guy who sold major Sears assets to … Eddie Lampert.

The New York Daily News announced on Monday plans to eliminate half of its newsroom as part of a broader effort to refocus the newspaper. Daily News staff was notified of the cuts in an email sent by the company's human resources department that also detailed a new direction for the paper, with an increased focus on breaking news with particular attention paid to crime, civil justice and public responsibility. It will still cover local news and sports, the email said. Journalists for the newspaper were called to a 9 a.m. meeting and then told to wait for the email,...

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has announced it will stop publishing the newspaper two days a week. According to a letter sent to the newspaper's employee union Wednesday, the newspaper is shrinking its printing schedule as part of a plan to become a digital news organization. The change will go into effect Aug. 25. Officials have not specified which days will be cut. Senior Human Resources Manager Linda Guest says in the letter, “the nature of our operations will change substantially.” The owners of the 232-year-old paper, Ohio-based Block Communications, have not responded to requests for comment.

The San Antonio Express-News laid off 14 newsroom employees Wednesday and Thursday as parent company Hearst Corp. coordinates the operations of its newspapers throughout Texas. Publisher Susan Pape attributed the layoffs to “economic factors” and a desire to combine the company’s resources across the state. She said the paper remains profitable. The layoffs were spread across the newsroom affecting writers, editors and photographers on the sports, metro, features and photo teams.

The owner Salt Lake Tribune has ordered staff cuts and a review of shrinking its print edition in light of continued losses in circulation and advertising revenues.

During an increasingly ugly meeting, the company’s CCO refused to answer whether money laundering allegations were true and blamed staff for undermining the business. During a private meeting with editors this week, a top Newsweek executive blamed his own journalists for the magazine’s recent turmoil and refused to answer whether the company committed financial crimes. Newsweek Media Group interim Chief Content Officer Johnathan Davis took questions from editors for nearly 90 minutes on Wednesday, according to recording obtained by The Daily Beast, about firings and investigations that have engulfed the company. Last month, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office raided Newsweek...

BOSTON — The Boston Herald is declaring bankruptcy and has agreed to be sold to GateHouse Media. See more at link..

WELLINGTON — New Zealand’s overseas investment regulator said Thursday it was discussing allegations made against former US “Today” show host Matt Lauer with his representative as part of a review of his purchase of a large South Island farm. NBC News fired Lauer on Wednesday after a female colleague accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, the network said, making him the latest rich and powerful man to be felled by such accusations. New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office cited the requirement that foreign investors be “of good character” as it confirmed it was seeking further information on Lauer. “The Overseas Investment...

ESPN says it is eliminating 150 studio and production employees as the sports broadcasting giant continues to shift its focus to a more digital future. [Snip] ESPN has lost about 10 million subscribers during the past six years, based on estimates by Nielsen Media Research.

November 27, the Denver Post set into motion its latest round of layoffs just over a year after shrinking the newsroom staff by 26 employees through the combination of a buyout offer and supplementary dismissals. Seven positions included in the Post's contract with the Denver Newspaper Guild are affected, and another four employees working non-union gigs also appear to have been discharged. "The Post gave the required two-week notice of layoff in seven union covered positions," notes the DNG's Tony Mulligan, corresponding via email. "Four are in the newsroom and three are in advertising support." ... As for why the...

The floundering Daily News lost $90.4 million over the last three years — including $23.7 million of red ink in the year ended Dec. 25. Revenue last year tumbled 14.2 percent, to $144.78 million, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Paid print Monday-to-Friday circulation slipped to 182,472 in the second quarter, according to the Alliance for Audited Media... Mort Zuckerman sold the teetering tabloid to Tronc, the owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, in September for $1.

In today’s 21st-century digital climate, newspapers are looking for creative ways to cut costs that go beyond trimming staff and cutting page sizes. Print is dead. Or so some say. In reality, the industry, like many others, is going through a massive transformation. Newspapers were once the primary — sometimes the only — form of communication and a mainstay of the community. Today, we get our news from a variety of sources, but community journalism is still here to stay. That means newspapers were (and still are) big business. But in today’s 21st-century digital climate, newspapers are looking for creative...

Editors and reporters in the New York Times Co. newsroom can no longer keep quiet about their growing frustrations regarding the direction of the paper. After a pair of letters sent to Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Managing Editor Joseph Kahn by Times reporters and copy editors, the News Guild of New York said the New York Times editorial staff will leave the newsroom on Thursday as a demonstration of solidarity as management threatens jobs. In the copy editors’ letter to Baquet and Kahn, they say they feel betrayed and disrespected in the newsroom, and ask that management reconsider staffing...

Using words including “betrayal,” “humiliating” and “covfefe” and suggesting that management had compared them to “dogs urinating on fire hydrants,” copy editors at the New York Times today let executive editor Dean Baquet and his heir apparent, Joseph Kahn, know exactly how they feel about taking the brunt of layoffs and buyouts as the Times expands its reporting ranks. The latest flare-up comes at a moment when the Times also is dealing with a libel lawsuit filed by former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin over a Times Op-Ed column erroneously linking her to violent attacks on public figures. In a...

Peddling fake news does not, in fact, equate to a long-term successful business strategy, reporters for The New York Times are learning the hard way. The Gray Lady, which many in the media class consider the pinnacle of the information business, is struggling so much financially that reporters are expected to be laid off from the publication, along with many editors, the New York Post reports. “Reporters at the New York Times could soon be ‘vulnerable’ to the ax,” the Post’s Keith Kelly wrote. “If the ongoing round of voluntary buyouts being offered to editing staff does not get enough...

Since President Donald Trump has been sworn in on Jan. 20, authorities have arrested an unprecedented number of sexual predators involved in child sex trafficking rings in the United States. This should be one of the biggest stories in the national news. Instead, the mainstream media has barely, if at all, covered any of these mass pedophile arrests. This begs the question – why?As a strong advocate for sex crime victims, I’ve been closely following the pedophile arrests since Trump took office. There have been a staggering 1,500-plus arrests in one short month; compare that to less than 400 sex...

The New York Times to vacate and rent out eight floors in their midtown office building. Will consolidate staff on redesigned floors.https://twitter.com/alexweprin/status/809784548317925376