Zell's flagship

Heard some chatter that managers at the Chicago Tribune have either told staffers quietly or even sent out memos that the ax will be falling at their place soon. Something about how there will be fewer of them around the joint in a few months.

Any confirmation out there in SportsJournalists.com land? Would seem to be due, given the slashing at the other locations.

 

I see the paper, most days. The ad-stacking on the inside pages of the news sections is astonishing.

 

Knew this was coming. Tough to see anyway.

 

The axe is coming at the Sun-Sentinel as well.

 

Should happen by September. Two middle-high level editors are "reimagining" the print version right now.

 

80 of about 600 newsroom jobs cut. Also cutting 14 percent of its current weekly page count.

Given current unfilled positions, should come out to about 60 people getting pink slips.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-080708tribune-cuts,0,93192.story

 

Two thoughts:

1. Story doesn't specify buyouts or layoffs. Since Tribune already did two rounds of buyouts in the last 14 months, it might not matter -- no one left, maybe, who would want to go voluntarily.

2. Get a load of the reader comments with the story. Here are a couple of beauties:

-- Another round of cuts. 6 months of a private Tribune Co, over 1,000 jobs gone in two waves of cuts. There will be more after the 3rd quarter results are in. These poor schmucks were told to work harder because They "own the place now". How hard can anyone really be working when The Turk is at the door every 3 months? What's worse, they give millions to Smith to pack it in, yet have no money to pay folks who actually work for it. Plenty of good folks will go down with the ship that the Clear Channel Boys are sinking (hopefully, the incompetent cronies who always seem to dodge these bullets will at some point feel the pain as well).

Yes, there is trouble in the industry, but only Tribune has placed the debt of a small nation on the backs of its employee "owners". Gannett Media News and others will survive this industry downturn much like they have in the past, because they would never be so foolish as the prior and current Tribune leadership.

-- It's not even worth 75 cents now. Who will pay that for a short local version of USA Today? Gone in two years.

Readers are smarters than publishers or Sam Zell give them credit for.

 

The page count cut was better than I thought it would be -- it'll still be a pretty thick paper on most days -- but that's not the point. Another 80 gone.

Jesus, Sam. Have a heart, why dontcha.

 

I thought this was Zell's flagship.

 

I remember that Randy Michaels quote from about a month ago regarding impending Tribune Co. ax:

"If you are productive and do a good job, you have nothing to worry about."