Cuts in Madison, Wisconsin

Saw this today:

Mike Ivey
@MikeIveyXC
Sources say big workforce reduction @WiStateJournal. Some veteran writers including Doug Moe, @AndyBaggotWSJ @DennisSemrauWSJ.

 

Damn. Damn. Damn.

 

Son of a... that's a pretty damn good paper. My thoughts to everyone there.

 

Here's a story about Wisconsin State Journal staff cuts from the Isthmus weekly paper/website:

Wisconsin State Journal axes veteran journalists - Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin

 

I was just coming here to post that. God, what's next... don't answer that...

 

More bad news for broadcast journalism (and sports journalism) in Wisconsin:

Exodus begins at Scripps owned WTMJ-TV - The Dudek Abides

 

From that article (emphasis added). Never fails and always .... shall I say, ironic?

"Sources says these layoffs, announced to staff late Thursday afternoon by State Journal editor John Smalley, were not voluntary.

Smalley did not promptly respond to an emailed request for comment."

&

"The layoffs at the State Journal are part of a company-wide belt-tightening. Sources say The Capital Times has also asked for layoff volunteers. And it is unclear whether the paper intends to fill the gap left by the recent voluntary departure of business reporter Mike Ivey. “No comment,” wrote editor Paul Fanlund, in response to a question on this."

 

I love (sarcasm) the way newspapers like the joke in Detroit think good business is immediately firing the veteran writers who actually have a following. The Detroit paper canned that Hall of Famer recently. How the hell do they think that is good business? Newspaper salaries are low to begin with. How can hiring a couple stiffs for 22,000 make up for the Detroit baseball writer who was probably lucky to be making 100,000? Hey Gatehouse and Gannett, keep giving your CEOs 500,000 plus a year and firing all your brand names. That's sure to kill the print product very soon, which obviously is your goal! Keep it up, please!

 

Decent column focusing on staff cuts at the State Journal, in addition to the state of the journalism industry.

Newspaper layoffs hurt all of society - Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin

 

Nut graf:
These layoffs hurt the paper in the long run, but they may fix the books
for another year. The layoffs probably ensure that Lee execs get their bonuses.

 

Just sad, sad, sad.

And what makes it even sadder is that sports tend to pay its bills. So there's a good chance that every other department has been cut to the bone already, and sports is the only department left with decent salaries.

 

How does sports "tend to pay its bills"? It's the most expensive topic to cover, by far.