Layoffs at the Press-Enterprise

The Press-Enterprise in Riverside on Tuesday cut several newsroom staffers Tuesday. At least one of the names I was originally given turned out to be incorrect, so I've removed the information from this post until I can confirm exactly who was laid off.

(this post was updated)

No food, no features at Daily News*

The Daily News of Los Angeles has cut features editor Sharyn Betz and food editor Natalie Haughton, according to LA Observed. A source inside the paper say they expect more cuts in the days ahead and possible further editorial consolidation between the Daily News, Daily Breeze and Press-Telegram.

*Updated, 10/21: LA Observed's headline says it all: "LANG papers begin the inevitable consolidation." The inevitable consolidation begins with the naming of Carolina Garcia as editor of the Daily News, Daily Breeze, and Press-Telegram, under three-paper publisher Jack Klunder. Toni Sciacqua will become managing editor - digital; a designation that says a lot about the future direction of the news cluster.

People who work at the three papers think this step will lead to more layoffs, as the papers eliminate redundancy. It's possible this is also a first step toward consolidation of all nine LANG papers, as happened with BANG in Northern California.

Buyouts in Denver

The Denver Post wants at least 20 newsroom staffers to take buyouts as a way to cut costs. This would represent 8 percent of newsroom employees. If the plan falls short, layoffs could follow.

Four for the weekend

1. Borzou Daragahi, who is leaving the Los Angeles Times for the Financial Times, had this to say about a proposed bonus package for Tribune Co. bosses: Tribune 2 give $42.5 million bonuses to 640 managers that could be used 2 hire 640 journos http://bit.ly/q2GLT4 #media

2. Speaking of the LA Times: No more vacation accrual for the rest of the year, LA Observed reports.

3. Steve Lambert, editor and publisher of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, has stepped down, according to several sources. Lambert previously worked at the San Bernardino Sun, which is part of the same MediaNews Group chain of papers.

4. The LA Times laid off ten pressroom employees today. Pressmens blog

BANG goes boom

MediaNews Group announced today that its Bay Area News Group will undergo a major consolidation that will merge 12 newspapers into three and eliminate 120 jobs - 48 of the positions are in the newsroom, KQED reports. When all is finished, BANG will consist of the Mercury News, The Times and East Bay Tribune.

BANG is using words like "streamlining" and "rebranding" to describe the merging and cutting. The actions should not come as a surprise given the decision MediaNews made in June to consolidate editorial control of the papers.

Here's part of the story (which appears to have been written by an ad agency) published on the soon-to-be retooled Contra Costa Times website:

Bay Area News Group (BANG) today announced a rebranding of many of its newspapers to better reflect the scope of its regional coverage. The changes - which include a streamlining of its print operations - primarily involve its East Bay newspapers, and will result in greater emphasis on providing high-impact, regional and local coverage. 

-snip- 

The streamlining of its print operations will also result in a reduction of approximately 120 jobs - primarily in the production and editorial divisions - out of a local workforce of 1,500 employees.

Management at MediaNews will argue, as it does in the story, that this consolidation is about much more than job cuts; that its a necessary step to position the BANG as a competitive news outlet in the rough and tumble 21st century. And maybe this smaller knot of news power will get the job done. But we cannot overlook the fact that this recently bankrupt company is trying to raise $350 million to buy newspapers from Freedom Communications. And we know editorial power wanes when you eliminate four dozen news staffers.

Or as the San Francisco Chronicles' Carla Marinucci tweeted: “Corporate PR spin: Release from CA’s Bay Area News Group, announcing decimation of its newspaper/staff chain tday, calls it ‘rebranding.’” (found via Romenesko)

Layoffs at the LA Times

The pink slips were expected, but that doesn't make them any more welcome.

LA Observed reports that columnist Tim Rutten, environmental writer Margot Roosevelt and NBA writer Mark Heisler are among the staffers laid off by the Times. About a dozen newsroom layoffs are expected and poor ad revenues are said to be to blame.

LA Times cutbacks, papers for sale, and other speculation

I'm told a memo was circulated this weekend among Los Angeles Times staffers asking for volunteers to take buyouts as a way to lessen or avoid layoffs at the paper.

The Chicago Tribune, the Times's sister paper, laid off 20 people on Friday, "many of them" from the newsroom, WBEZ reported.

Times employees are in a state of anxiety, as LA Observed pointed out last week, as rumors of layoffs swirl amid continued efforts by owner Tribune Co. to crawl out of bankruptcy. Investors are impatient and layoffs are a quick way to improve the financial picture in the short term.

So, is this about boosting profits and satisfying debt holders? Or should we believe the Wall Street Journal's speculation that the Times could be being readied for sale - with a smaller payroll making for a more attractive sales price?

And since we're speculating... Could the Tribune be raising cash as a way to up its bid for the Orange County Register? The Register's publisher announced Friday that he'll at the end of September, which would indicate a deal is in the works. MediaNews Group had emerged as the top bidder for the paper, but negotiations broke down last month. This was followed by a flurry of layoffs in MediaNews's Southern California newspapers - a sign the chain is looking to up its ante.

Layoffs atop Reuters

Thomson Reuters has fired the business chief of its news division along with four other top executives, reports The Wrap. The move is part of a three-year rolling reorganization aimed at catching Bloomberg and Dow Jones. From my vantage point, Reuters has hired good writers and reporters but remains hard to find.

The Wrap has a vested interest in this news, as the entertainment and media website partnered with Reuters America last year (not mentioned in the breaking news update above).

*Meantime, Gannett is hiring executives.

Layoffs and leavings at the Daily News

The Los Angeles Daily News newsroom got a little smaller this week. Online content producer Cliff Redding and web producer/designer Tom Gapen received layoff notices. A third person, from circulation, also got a pink slip. The latter layoff was mentioned last week.

Additionally, the city editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, John Miller, is leaving the paper to teach high school English in Kuwait, according to a memo obtained by LA Observed.

(Corrections: Original post had Mr. Redding's and Mr. Gapen's titles wrong.)

Long Beach Press-Telegram update

Three newsroom employees at the Long Beach Press-Telegram lost jobs this week as their departments were absorbed into the Daily Breeze. According to the Long Beach Post, sports columnist Frank Burlison and photographers Steven Georges and Diandra Jay received pink slips. (This post clarifies an earlier post.)

MySpace is a bargain

The Wrap reports that News Corp. has unloaded MySpace.com for $35 million to Specific Media. Layoffs are expected to be part of the deal. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought the social network in 2005 for $580 million.

Other LANG layoffs

In addition to the seven people who lost jobs in LANG's San Gabriel Valley group, I'm told the Los Angeles Daily News cut a position in its circulation department, and three or more newsroom staffers at the Long Beach Press-Telegram were laid off. I believe the PT layoffs are part of a consolidation plan announced in April, but I'm still awaiting details.

Update on layoffs in the San Gabriel Valley

Here's an update on the layoffs at the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group: Seven people total lost their jobs: two of them were on the business side, five from the newsroom. The affected newsroom employees are Hector Gonzalez, Eric Reed, Karen Lee, Coye Sloan and Steve Wytucki.

Add: Gonzalez was the city editor at the Pasadena Star-News, one of the three papers in the SGVN chain. His position will not be filled. Metro Editor Frank Girardot will continue as the primary editor for the paper.

Layoffs in San Gabriel Valley

At least five, and as many as seven, newsroom employees have lost their jobs in the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. Layoff notices went to three from the copy desk, one photographer, and the city editor at the Pasadena Star-News.

The layoffs come as the papers' owner, Denver-based MediaNews Group, is being asked to up its offer for the Orange County Register.

The newspaper group includes the Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Whittier Daily News.

Four today

1. If you like the smell of news print (and who does) you can buy a candle and pretend its still 2004. refinery29

2. We were already a curation nation. Nieman Journalism Lab

3. Gannett axes 700 employees from its newspaper division. Romenesko

4. David Carr reviews James O'Shea's tell-all about the Tribune Co.'s disastrous deal to buy the LA Times. NYT

Layoffs at the Union-Tribune

The San Diego Union-Tribune laid off five news staffers yesterday. The San Diego Reader has the story.

Press-Enterprise publisher announces changes

The Press-Enterprise laid off 24 employees yesterday, including three newsroom employees - a city reporter and two web staffers. This morning, Publisher Robert Redfern sent out a staff memo (see below) announcing changes to the paper's business publications. Redfern does not reference the layoffs, but notes the "severe measures" taken by parent-company Belo in the last few years in response to falling revenues. Here's the memo:

Dear Colleagues,

As with others within our industry, we’ve had to take severe measures over the past several years in order to adjust our business to the economy and the marketplace changes. We continue to be very uncertain about what will happen with our local economy in this coming year, largely because we’ve continued to experience revenue challenges.

As a result, we’re being forced to make further adjustments in our business priorities. Some of these will impact The Business Press, which first published in September 1995 and has been part of our product portfolio for the past 16 years. Unfortunately, because of the economic downturn of the past three years, we’ve come to a point where we’re no longer in a financial position to continue publication. Consequently, June 6, 2011 will be the final weekly edition of The Business Press.

This means we are changing how and where The Business Press readers seek and consume B2B information each day. The business reporters of The Press-Enterprise will continue to cover the Inland Southern California business community, but now these B2B stories, analysis and in-depth perspective, along with blogs and calendars, will be appearing on PE.com and in the daily Business section.

This was a difficult decision to make in response to the current adverse business environment with which we in the newspaper industry continue to struggle. We understand that this current business climate can be difficult to deal with, and we thank you for your commitment to our Company.

Ron Redfern
Publisher

The Press-Enterprise has made a few newsroom hires in recent months, I'm told, so it's not clear if yesterday's layoffs actually shrink the news staff or keep it steady.

Layoffs in Riverside*

I'm told at least three newsroom staffers got laid off today at the Press-Enterprise in Riverside. More than two dozen employees were laid off company wide. I'll update when I get more information.

*Update: Three newsroom employees - a city reporter and two web position - were cut as part of a 24-person downsizing. 

Layoffs at the North County Times and Californian

The North County Times and The Californian have laid off twenty workers between them, according to the Press-Enterprise. The Lee-owned papers cover parts of San Diego and Riverside counties. The layoffs hit multiple departments; the story does not say how many newsroom employees got the axe. Said the dejected source who emailed me the article, "A few years ago people actually cared about stuff like this..."

Press-Telegram losing sports, photo, features*, **

The Long Beach Press-Telegram is eliminating sports, photo and features departments from its already skeletal newsroom. The duties will be turned over to the P-T's sister paper, the Daily Breeze in Torrance, two sources tell me. At least two sports writers, a features writer and a photographer will lose their jobs. I'm told the staffers can reapply for their positions in Torrance.

*Updated: A little more detail about the change. I'm told photo is being moved from Long Beach to the Daily Breeze and there will be one fewer photographers, and sports will likewise be moved with two fewer staffers. The P-T's features department will be eliminated, which means Al Rudis is out of a job.

In their place, the Daily Breeze plans to hire a news editor and a presentation editor and to create two new city reporter positions.

**Updated 4/30: The fog is beginning to clear on the Long Beach Press-Telegram. A story in the Long Beach Post makes clear that two people were laid off yesterday: executive city editor John Futch and day city editor Rose Fitzpatrick.

Additionally, the paper has lost its photo, sports and features departments. This will affect more people than I originally reported. There are five photographers, six sports writers and columnists, and three features department employees who will be terminated and then asked to reapply for jobs at the Daily Breeze. As reported above, there will be one fewer photographers, two fewer sports slots and, apparently, no features openings at the Breeze.