Feb 19, 2009

Bad day L.A.*

The newsrooms at the Los Angeles Times and Daily News of Los Angeles will be smaller before the weekend arrives.

The Daily News is expected to layoff a total of eight newsroom staffers between today and tomorrow. Editor Carolina Garcia, speaking at an SPJ meeting last night, said this is the fourth round of cuts since she arrived, adding that "we can't cut fast enough" to keep up with falling revenues. The paper is "truly in survival mode" and will now be focused almost exclusively on the San Fernando Valley, she said. She also reiterated that all of LANG's copy desks will merge as one in West Covina.

The Times will cut 70 or so reporters and editors today in its latest round of downsizing - a total of 300 employees will lose jobs at the paper. California section editor David Lauter, speaking on the same SPJ panel, said his paper will focus more on big, high-level, in-depth stories, and will have to rely more and more on part-timers, amateurs and freelancers for the "routine" and "incremental" reporting that it can no longer afford to do. Indeed, the Times plans to end the California section as part of its cost cutting plan.

*Updated at 9:54 a.m.: LA Observed now reports that the Times will cut a smaller number of positions today through a few layoffs and some voluntary buyouts and then make further cuts toward the end of the month when the California section folds. Long-time reporter Dan Morain is among those taking a buyout.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Editor Carolina Garcia, speaking at an SPJ meeting last night, said this is the fourth round of cuts since she arrived, adding that 'we can't cut fast enough' to keep up with falling revenues."

Spoken like a true leader.

Anonymous said...

They need to start devoting more time to increasing the revenue stream, not cutting expenses. Eventually, there's nothing left to cut. But increased revenue gives us all a chance. There's too much effort on one and not the other.

Anonymous said...

gee, you think. we have been beating that drum for many months, yet, there is not a lot of talent left in langland if any to focus on increasing revenue. there is a lot of ez pickings if they want to listen. sadly, they don't. try to place an ad using their web tools etc etc etc.

Anonymous said...

Yes, management has to call a managers meeting and follow up with a memo or email telling the remaining executives to stop working on layoff lists and cost reductions and start working on ways to increase "the revenue stream." Simple enough.

Anonymous said...

Lang is a great big fat joke.

Anonymous said...

Yes, management has to call a managers meeting and follow up with a memo or email telling the remaining executives to stop working on layoff lists and cost reductions and start working on ways to increase "the revenue stream." Simple enough.

That would require management to admit that revenues could be increased, which is a tacit admission of failure on their part in that they haven't increased the revenues already.

Getting this bunch of assclowns to admit they're in over their heads (much less that they've screwed up royally) is a pipe dream.

In other words, it's never gonna happen, because "this is all the economy's fault, there's nothing we can do about it, and that's just the way it is."

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