Next up on the block: Albany Times Union

budcrew08 · Mar 1, 2009

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=774765&category=BUSINESS

Times Union says it will cut staff size
Reductions are part of effort to trim operating costs by 20 percent

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Saturday, February 28, 2009

COLONIE — The publisher of the Times Union said Friday the newspaper will cut the size of its staff as it seeks to reduce operating costs by 20 percent.

In an e-mail to employees, George R. Hearst III said newspapers, along with other media outlets, are "going through a period of unprecedented challenges" and "the Times Union is not exempt from those difficulties."

Over the next two months, the newspaper, owned by New York City-based Hearst Corp., "will need to reorganize our employee base in all divisions," he said, requiring "staff reductions from both unionized and non-union employees."

The announcement comes during a period of unprecedented turmoil for the newspaper industry, which is being hit by advertising revenue declines caused by the recession and competition from the Internet.

On Friday, the Rocky Mountain News in Denver published its last edition. Closer to home, Journal Register Co., owner of the daily newspapers in Troy and Saratoga Springs, filed last weekend for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The cuts at the Times Union are "regrettable," Hearst said, "but it's a reality of the times."

"We're in uncharted territory," he added.

The Times Union has 453 full-time employees, a number that was shaved by 25 voluntary buyouts last summer and the decision to leave some open positions unfilled.

Hearst said it should not be assumed the reductions will result in the layoff of one-fifth of the paper's payroll, which would equal roughly 90 people.

"We are already moving toward that 20 percent (cost reduction)," he said, noting a recent cut in newsprint use, among other changes.

Hearst said it was too early to say just how many employees would lose their jobs. The number would depend on how much money can be saved elsewhere in the newspaper's operation, he said.

But newspapering is "a people-intensive business," he said, making it difficult to cut expenses without cutting personnel.

Roughly 240 of the Times Union's employees are members of the The Albany Newspaper Guild, part of the Communications Workers of America.

Tim O'Brien, president of the guild and a reporter at the Times Union, was told of the cuts Thursday and posted the news on the union's Web site.

"We're deeply concerned about the depth of these cuts," O'Brien said. "That means it's going to be a very different newspaper when all is said and done."

Nearly every major Capital Region news outlet has cut staff during the past year, as traditional media searches for its economic place in a new technological environment. The recession only exacerbated the difficulties.

Edward Atorino, a media industry analyst with The Benchmark Co., a New York City investment firm, said recent months have been brutal for news companies. If the trend continues for several years, he said, "a lot of newspapers will be gone, and a lot of television stations and radio stations."

Hearst said the cost-reduction goal announced Friday is designed to ensure the long-term viability of the newspaper.

"We greatly value the work that every one of you does," he said in his e-mail to employees, "and deeply regret that the very survival of our enterprise hinges upon the cost-cutting that must include the departures of people who are part of the company."

Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com
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ZummoSports · Mar 1, 2009

I wonder how much it cost the Times Union to put its name on what used to be the Pepsi Arena.

There's a cost a struggling paper doesn't need.

Times Union Center, indeed.

Precious Roy · Mar 1, 2009

Hope sports doesn't get cut too much. Have had a lot of dealings with those guys since the CBA came to town here, and they are all classy guys that will help when you need it.

Good luck up there, we're thinking of you.

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Next up on the block: Albany Times Union

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