68 in Inquirer newsroom to lose their jobs

[OhioChick]

Posted on Wed, Jan. 03, 2007

Ending months of speculation, Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C. said yesterday that it would lay off 68 newsroom employees, or 17 percent of the editorial staff, in another round of cost cutting at The Inquirer.

PMH said the cutbacks would save about $6.8 million a year in salaries and benefits and would lead to more restructuring of beats and coverage areas as the slimmed-down news staff regroups to report the region's news.

The Inquirer newsroom will have 325 employees after the cutbacks. As the cuts approached, a handful of reporters and editors left. The Daily News will have 106 newsroom employees.

"It's a very difficult day for The Inquirer and for the individuals, and we're going to try and handle this with professionalism, dignity, thoughtfulness and care," Inquirer editor William K. Marimow said last night. He said the cutbacks were smaller than earlier plans, which called for more than 100 jobs to be eliminated.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/16370474.htm

[ixion]

1. tabloids become less 'relevant' as the MSM becomes more tabloid

just my theory. ;-)

[Vinca]

3. Inquirer, not Enquirer. Huge difference. nt

[Demit]

4. The Philadelphia Inquirer is a broadsheet.

Which won umpteen Pulitzer Prizes, in its day. Its day is long past, unfortunately, and Brian Tierney will be the last nail in the coffin.

[ixion]

6. thanks to both of you for the correction... sorry about the error

I stand corrected.

[SAXMAR]

2. Sad news about a great Newspaper

Nothing more to say.

[enough]

5. As a subscriber to the Inquirer for decades, I finally had to cancel the subscritption.

Not over what they were covering, but because of what the were NOT covering. They have become another cog in the corporate media machine.

I'll never forget their 3-page retrospective on Sandra Day O'Connor -- three pages that did not once mention her role in Bush v. Gore. (That "election" was not even mentioned in the article.)

And the massive spread they did last year on the "Quality of Life" in Iraq. All about the number of cars and students in college. Not one word about the number of Iraqis being kidnapped, wounded, and killed.

They're in some other universe.

[NashVegas]

7. Are They One of the Former Knight-Ridder Papers?

Can't quite remember.

This is going to happen in newsrooms across the country, and even faster if the FCC grants corporate media its wish in allowing cross-ownership between TV and papers.

My advice/plea to anyone working in news: quit. Get any job that will pay you enough to get by, and start your own outlet with your former co-workers, on the side.

[Demit]

8. LOL! It's the mystical, mythical universe of Centrism, of which they are

the self-righteous, self-appointed center.

[shrike]

9. A former colleague of mine works at the Inquirer

and has gone over to the dark side. I remember reading one of his pieces last year and nearly falling off my chair: flag-waving, Saddam-evil, freedom-fighting nonsense. To say I was shocked was putting it mildly.
Then again, the Inquirer always kept him fat and happy, so maybe it was a case of "I've got mine . . ."

[enough]

11. Strange you should mention that. I watched the same transformation in a person I know

who writes for them. And was equally shocked.

[thecrow]

10. Newsroom employees make $100K a year?

Who knew?

[enough]

12. Ed Herman has a great blog called Inkywatch, where he does ongoing analysis

of the Inquirer's contents. The only trouble with reading it is that it just makes you seethe with anger every time.

http://www.inkywatch.org/

(From Wikipedia: Edward S. Herman is an economist and media analyst with a specialty in corporate and regulatory issues as well as political economy and the media. He is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. One of his most famous books is Manufacturing Consent, written with Noam Chomsky.)

[Redstone]

13. Damn, my sister is an editor there. Guess I should call her, eh?

Redstone