Media General, which has been reeling from its exposure to the weak Florida market, is eliminating 250 to 260 jobs at The Tampa Tribune, WFLA-TV and other Florida properties. The cutbacks came through a combination of buyouts and layoffs that have been ongoing much of the year. Another 50 or 60 people are yet to be laid off, according to the company’s head of Florida operations.
The Salt Lake Tribune is implementing a hiring freeze. In a statement, Editor Nancy Conway gave a lesson in double-speak: “Clearly, we’re going to try to keep the core product strong. The reality is it will probably decrease in size. We’re trying to improve on our online publications, although they’re very successful as well.” Um, okay.
The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, NY has laid off six employees on top of the 12 people cut free last year. That leaves 162 people who must be confident that management has got things firmly under control.
The Raleigh News & Observer is preparing to announce layoffs of about 10% of its newsroom staff, according to a local TV station. The paper tried offering voluntary buyouts to a quarter of its staff in April, but few were expected to take the package and few apparently did. Management has reportedly told staff that layoffs are coming but has given no timeline or details, leaving employees anxious and fueling the rumor mill. Perhaps the layoff process should start with firing the manager who came up with that bright idea for boosting morale. (via McClatchy Watch).
Need more bad news? Newsprint prices are headed up by as much as 10%, says Poynter’s Rick Edmonds. Citing a recent analyst call, he says the sharp increases, which are fueled by high energy costs and a strong Canadian dollar, will force more papers to reduce their width by about 9% and test reader tolerance for thinner paper stock.
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