Layoffs at AL.com?

News. Barnett Wright, a highly-regarded veteran and senior writer, was shown the door.

 

Yeah, that's not accurate.

 

What part in inaccurate?

 

That AL.com doesn't employ an African-American reporter. You can't even say the Bham News doesn't employ one either because I'm pretty sure Gary at least is based out of Birmingham.

Is it still noteworthy that the newsside of the Bham News doesn't employ an African-American reporter? Sure, if that's true. But you can see that there's a pretty big difference between saying a massive statewide organization like AL.com doesn't employ an African-American reporter versus what the truth is (or might be)?

 

Yes, you are correct. I don't know about the situation statewide with AL.com but I am 110 percent about Advance Publications letting go its only African American news reporter in Birmingham.

 

What a shitshow Advance is. It'll run the whole operation into the ground and walk away with it smoldering.

 

If it's like most places, they'll just have to stop taking the calls. No way you can put out a section and take the volume of calls most papers get during prep season. They might ask them to try, but it ain't gonna work. Trust me on this. I've been through it.

 

What's strange is that AL.com is hiring while firing, too.
I know another guy who's leaving his paper to join that staff.

 

Columnist Mark McCarter was one of those let go.

I feel kind of sick about that.

 

If they stop taking calls, how do they get their results, email? I actually prefer email but most people call and it's hectic while trying to write a gamer, lay out pages, post stuff in the web, tweet and Facebook.

 

Letting veterans go .... Hmmm. Still disagree with Fredrick that that one paper is doing cartwheels getting rid of the veterans? This business is a disgrace. It's getting what it deserves ... extinction!

 

Extinction is coming regardless. What these places are doing is just strategically delaying it for as long as possible. Little different than tossing ballast off a sinking ship.