The cuts in staffing that results in reduced content and diminished quality isn't just happening in Long Beach.
The Monterey County Weekly lays out some MediaNews financials (2007 revenues were up 59% from the previous year) at the beginning of its story about the recent cuts at the Monterey Herald where MediaNews continues to gut that newsroom.
We know what continued cuts can do. When MediaNews took control of our paper we had 230 in the newsroom. In 2007, we had 82. Today we have 51. Our circulation has plummeted too. There is a connection.
MediaNews is making money, but for how long? Combining or dropping sections and cutting staff to save newsprint and money has not gone unnoticed by the readers. They will go elsewhere for real local news and information. We'd rather they didn't.
After all, important information, news and opinion is what a newspaper should provide. It shouldn't exist merely to provide it's owner with over a million bucks in annual compensation and "a minimum annual raise of 5 percent".
The company's 0% wage offer is an insult to those of us that work so hard to provide quality journalism to our communities. We deserve more.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Newsroom cuts hurt
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
What really hurts is the cancellations!! of our negotion dates!!!
Concerns about long-term viability are only valid if you believe they're interested in journalism as a long-term investment. This looks more like a modernized, protracted version of a hostile takeover. Buy a company and gut it, selling off all the pieces you can, squeezing every last dime for as long as you can, until there's nothing left.
If MediaNews hasn't shuttered most of its holdings five years from now, I'll be really surprised.
Post a Comment