Friday, March 27, 2009

News in the world of news: It ain't good

First, FishbowlNY reports that there have been 100 layoffs on the business side of the New York Times, with a 5 percent pay cut across the newsroom, too.

The memo to staff reads, in part:

The recession, especially the deteriorating advertising climate, is exacting a bitter toll, despite all that we have already done to reduce spending.This morning, we notified about 100 employees on the business side of The Times that their jobs were being eliminated. We thank these
dedicated colleagues for all they have contributed to The Times over the years.
The broader announcement today outlines a temporary salary reduction for the remainder of the year for all
non-union employees, including the top leadership of the company. It is our hope
that these cost-cutting measures will allow us to avoid further layoffs.Although
employee pay will be cut by 5% for the remaining three-quarters of the year, you will be entitled to 10 additional personal days off over the nine months. Next year, we plan to return salaries to their current levels. Of course, such a decision depends on the state of our business.

And, over at the Christian Science Monitor, today marks the last publication date of their daily print newspaper.

An editor's note to readers says:

"No longer inked on wood pulp, no longer trucked from printing plants to your mailbox, no longer published only five days a week, the daily Monitor is now a dynamic online newspaper on all days. Complementing our 24/7 online Monitor is a new print weekly, the first issue of which will be in subscribers' mailboxes in two weeks. "

Tough times.