Layoffs in LANG*, **

The salary cuts and furloughs weren't enough to stave off layoffs in the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. I'm told that two editorial employees, including the photo editor, were fired from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and an unfilled editorial position was eliminated. An administrative assistant and IT staffer were also laid off.

There may be more layoffs in other departments and at other papers. I'll update when and if I get more information.

*Update: The layoffs include photo editor Bernardo Alps and designer Mary Roy. An unfilled editorial position at the Pasadena Star-News was also eliminated.

**Update II: Here's the goodbye email from Bernardo Alps to his former colleagues (I deleted his contact information):

...wasn't planning it this way, but I am off in search of new adventures. 

I want to thank all of you for the time we had together. You are a great group of people doing great work under difficult conditions. I enjoyed working with all of you and I learned from each of you. I hope you realize that I had to be a hardass to make things work smoothly. If I was hard on you sometimes, it in no way reflects how I feel about you personally. 

Please stay in touch (and send any leads my way). 

Now I'm off to make some lemonade... 

Take care

MediaNews and Freedom are thinking merger

The shakeup in the MediaNews Group boardroom, led by news that Dean Singleton is stepping down as CEO, isn't just a case of musical chairs. As the Wall Street Journal reports, two of the three new board members named today work for a company that is part owner of Freedom Communications, publisher of the Orange County Register. An insider told WSJ that the company, Alden Global Capital, is thinking merger.

MediaNews owns nine newspapers in Southern California, some of which already have a working relationship with the Register.

But the consolidation plans could go much further. From the WSJ:

MediaNews Group Inc., publisher of more than 50 daily U.S. newspapers including the Denver Post, is eyeing a merger with Freedom Communications Inc. and possibly several other newspaper companies, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

-snip-

The person ... said Alden wants to roll at least some of its various newspaper holdings into a single company. Alden was part of a group of financial firms that emerged last year as the winner of the auction of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Alden also owns a stake in Journal Register Co., which publishes the New Haven Register among a group of other papers.