Chronicle will slash 125, buries story...

Last summer's announcement of 100 layoffs at the chron was a pretty big story, but the paper's trying to bury what appears to be a bigger hit, announcing 125 buyouts targeted in a page 3 brief on Saturday. Doesn's say how many of the 125 are in editorial. Old news, I guess. The death of newspaper is no longer a story, judging by tepid response - only 12 readers replied to post.

http://reporter-g.blogspot.com/2008/08/more-of-same-san-francisco-chronicle-on.html

 

Color me shocked. A quote from Frank Vega. Am sure he's doing his part too.

 

What was once such a great market now seems headed for the Chron and the San Jose/CC/Oakland conglomerate and a bunch of local publications. The sheer number of legitimately talented writers and editors up there who have lost their jobs is a real shame.

 

If they really are losing $1M/wk, they probably have to whack people. That seems insane to me.

 

It's 125 throughout the building. I'm told 1,400 are eligible to apply for the buyouts, so that would be about 9 percent of the staff. There is a hope (pipe dream?) that since editorial has taken the brunt of previous cuts, it will be relatively spared this time.

 

Might be a good idea to put the city in the thread title.

 

Unfortunately, at this point, that might qualify as bad news. A lot of the poor saps who didn't raise their hands last time might be hoping to get out with money now and they'll be told, "No, never mind."

After, of course, identifying themselves as being willing to go, thereby screwing themselves in terms of advancement, opportunities and such.

 

Six years ago, I looked at a picture of the world's greatest newspaper men. I felt like a kid in front of a candy store. Well, tonight, six years later, I got my candy -- all of it. Welcome, gentlemen, to the Enquirer! Make up an extra copy of that picture and send it to the Chronicle, will you please? It will make you all happy to learn that our circulation this morning was the greatest in New York: Six hundred and eighty-four thousand!

 

And after how many years was he going to have to sell that joint, losing $ at the rate of $1M a year?

 

How is 125 buyouts a bigger story than 100 layoffs? Hell, 25 layoffs is probably a bigger story than 125 buyouts.

 

The aforementioned Mr. Kane and his reporting staff.

 

Last imitated by Mr. Deford and his sportswriting staff.

R.I.P. The National.