LAT cutting 75 more

[SixToe]

Didn't see this anywhere else:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Newsroom staffing at the Los Angeles Times is shrinking again.

Newspaper spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan said Monday that 75 staffers are being laid off in the latest round of cuts.

She declined further comment and would not disclose how many journalists will remain at the paper.

The Times, which is owned by Chicago-based Tribune Co., reduced its overall staff by 250 people last summer, including 150 from the newsroom.

Editor Russ Stanton blamed the cutbacks on the economic slowdown.

[Elliotte Friedman]

Geez, does anyone work at this paper anymore?

[Bristol Insider]

Stanton's memo, courtesy of LA Observed. Heard there are names in sports ...


Colleagues,
The growing economic downturn is forcing us to undergo another round of job reductions and cost cuts. I deeply regret to report that today, 75 of our friends, colleagues and capable staff members in Editorial will be told that they are losing their jobs. This is about 10% of our total staff and these cuts are comparable in scale to those made on the business side of The Times last week.

The severance terms being offered to our colleagues are similar to those offered in the other reductions we've faced this year.

I appreciate your patience, understanding and cooperation during this difficult period. Your department heads and the senior editing team, including John, Davan, Meredith and I, are available to hear your concerns and answer any questions.

Russ Stanton
Editor
Los Angeles Time

[SoCalDude]

   This was also on LAObserved over the weekend:


http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/10/dissing_the_times_from_th.php

[Claws for Concern]

I know of one person affected by these most recent cuts -- heard it from a mutual friend -- and said the guy was completely shocked.

[DanOregon]

Looks like they're even cutting back on their "cutting back" memos. Three freakin' grafs?

[forever_town]

And the descent into irrelevance continues.

[Piotr Rasputin]

Long ago, it was my dream to work at the Times, hopefully covering soccer (this was before MLS even existed, but I had hope).

Hell, it was every young aspiring journalist in LA's dream to work at the Times. One of the country's great places is losing its media voice.

Heartbreaking.

[DanOregon]

People aren't stupid:

http://www.contentbridges.com/2008/10/slaughtering-the-cash-cows-a-bit-too-early.html

It's so bad now, there isn't anybody left to talk about "the good old days."

[Joe Williams]

People aren't stupid:

http://www.contentbridges.com/2008/10/slaughtering-the-cash-cows-a-bit-too-early.html

It's so bad now, there isn't anybody left to talk about "the good old days."

Great link, greater line. Hahahahahahahaha!

Heart bleeds for the freshly clubbed, though.

[deskslave]

If nothing else, at least the memo is honest. No bullshit about "restructuring" or "right-sizing."

Our colleagues are being told they're losing their jobs.

Simple and to the point.

[Birdscribe]

Long ago, it was my dream to work at the Times, hopefully covering soccer (this was before MLS even existed, but I had hope).

Hell, it was every young aspiring journalist in LA's dream to work at the Times. One of the country's great places is losing its media voice.

Heartbreaking.

Amen, PR.

Heard through a good contact that five in sports are on the block.

Depressing, pure and simple.

[Fran Curci]

LA Observed says Lonnie White has left the Times

[clutchcargo]

This stinks. I wish all the best for the LA staffers about to be cut.

[Bristol Insider]

From the Times' publisher. Fuck him ...

From: Hartenstein, Eddy
Sent: Mon 10/27/2008 5:24 PM
To: zzTrbAllHandsLAT
Subject:
The last couple of weeks have been tough and we've had to say goodbye to some talented colleagues and friends. It was not how I wanted to start the fourth quarter, but the deteriorating business climate is something that cannot be ignored. The good news, however, is that we are continuing to reinvent this fine company so it will be around long into the future.

Tomorrow, the Senior Team will be holding an offsite meeting to finalize our strategic plan for 2009 and beyond. I'm confident that we've determined a plan for the next year and created the long-term vision we need to succeed. We will share that plan with all employees before Thanksgiving and get a Town Hall on the calendar within the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some of our most recent accomplishments:

· Our new Chief Revenue Officer Scott McKibben is making some long overdue changes to our Advertising departments; fewer layers, better incentives, and prioritizing a client-focused approach to sales. If there are ad dollars out there, there's no reason we can't get them. · Zetabid, our joint real estate venture under the leadership of Bob Bellack, had its first auction a few weeks ago. It was a great success and we believe we'll have more jam-packed auctions in the coming months. · Our launch of LA magazine, led by Annie Gilbar and its new publisher Penn Jones, has been very well received by readers and advertisers alike and furthers our outstanding brand presence in Southern California. · Under the guidance of Michael Whitley and the rest of his design team, we launched our redesigned newspaper last week. This is obviously a multi-step process and from this point forward we will make continuous improvements to enhance the reader experience. · The Times made its first endorsement in a presidential election since 1972, backing Senator Barack Obama for President and creating media discussion internationally. · Our website, latimes.com increased its audience 102% over the past year, reaching 10 million unique visitors during September, according to Nielsen NetRatings (September 2008 v. 2007). This was the largest increase among the top 5 newspaper websites during that period. · And, just around the corner, The Envelope Screening Series kicks off next week and features LA Times talent such as Pete Hammond, John Horn, and Tom O'Neil. This was an extremely popular event last year and this year promises to be even better.
These are just a few examples of the great work that is being done to re-think how we do business. The Los Angeles Times is still one of the most trusted brands in the country. Your leadership team is working together like never before and 2009 will be a defining year for our company. We do great things here everyday and will continue to do so. However, we must push through the conventional barriers that have limited us in so many ways. Now is the time to redefine our future-to be the leader and show our competitors how a "newspaper" can successfully change itself into a world-class, news and information source that spans all mediums.

I'll be in touch again soon

eddy

[Bristol Insider]

Add Thomas Bonk to the list. Best of luck to the writer who coined "Phi Slama Jama"

[Mizzougrad96]

The big rumor is that the rest of the Tribune papers will follow suit very soon, with the possible exception being Chicago.

[Fran Curci]

Was Bonk still covering golf and living in NorCal? That combination must have been a kiss of death.

[Mizzougrad96]

Was Bonk still covering golf and living in NorCal? That combination must have been a kiss of death.

Yeah, any of the following can be a kiss of death these days:

1. Beat sharing
2. Living/working out of coverage area
3. Covering golf, tennis, boxing, cycling, outdoors, Olympics
4. National writer for any sport

[Fran Curci]

Upon reflection, working for a newspaper might be a kiss of death, even though I remain (slightly) hopeful.

[derwood]

5. Making more than minimum wage.

This used to be a great paper... 

[MileHigh]

Wow, that sucks big time about Bonk. One of my favorite writers.

[Double J]

Upon reflection, working for a newspaper might be a kiss of death, even though I remain (slightly) hopeful.

Bingo. For most if not all of us.

[Mizzougrad96]

Upon reflection, working for a newspaper might be a kiss of death, even though I remain (slightly) hopeful.

The Gannett news should quickly change that.

[MTM]

How is it that the Times brings in Broderick Turner from the Riverside Press-Enterprise last month to cover the Lakers then fires Bonk, White and others?
Turner does a great job with the Lakers, but shouldn't more loyalty have been shown to longtime employees?