WTF Chicago Tribune?! Zell cutting into bone now

[Joe Williams]

From Crain's Chicago Business:

Trib to pare newsroom 20%
By: Ann Saphir April 13, 2009
(Crain’s) — The Chicago Tribune plans to cut another 20% of its newsroom staff in yet another bid to reduce expenses amid continuing advertising declines.

Staffers were told of the impending layoffs last week, according to three people who attended a meeting on the topic. The cuts will take place over the next several weeks, the sources said.

The expected cuts are the latest attempt to reduce expenses at the paper, whose parent Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in December.

A Trib spokeswoman declined to comment.

The Trib has been adding some workers — including hiring a new spokeswoman — as it beefs up staffing in “emerging growth opportunities,” Publisher Tony Hunter told employees in an e-mail earlier this year.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=33660

Nice to know they can afford a new spokeswoman even as they're whacking journalists.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Well spokesmen to explain layoffs is an emerging growth opportunity.

 

[Desk_dude]

From Crain's Chicago Business:

Trib to pare newsroom 20%
By: Ann Saphir April 13, 2009
(Crain’s) — The Chicago Tribune plans to cut another 20% of its newsroom staff in yet another bid to reduce expenses amid continuing advertising declines.

Staffers were told of the impending layoffs last week, according to three people who attended a meeting on the topic. The cuts will take place over the next several weeks, the sources said.

The expected cuts are the latest attempt to reduce expenses at the paper, whose parent Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in December.

A Trib spokeswoman declined to comment.

The Trib has been adding some workers — including hiring a new spokeswoman — as it beefs up staffing in “emerging growth opportunities,” Publisher Tony Hunter told employees in an e-mail earlier this year.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=33660

Nice to know they can afford a new spokeswoman even as they're whacking journalists.

It's pretty much Tribune wide. 20 percent cutbacks in newsrooms by the end of the year, with most by the next few weeks. Some papers have done a little trimming. The 20 percent includes anyone leaving for another job/retirement.
Copy desk/design will take a greater hit because pages being picked up from Chicago.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Sam Zell's balls need to be in the mouth of a shark right about now.

 

[Sly]

Stop the charade. Just close it down already, Sam.

 

[playthrough]

Crossthread: Exhibit A as to why things like ESPNChicago.com are created.

 

[Joe Williams]

At least a commenter to the original Crain's story asks the obvious question: How will cutting the product by another 20% make more people, rather than fewer, want to buy it?

Consumers aren't that stupid. Pilot tries to pull out of death spiral by accelerating and pointing the nose down. Good luck with that.

 

[slappy4428]

At least a commenter to the original Crain's story asks the obvious question: How will cutting the product by another 20% make more people, rather than fewer, want to buy it?

Consumers aren't that stupid. Pilot tries to pull out of death spiral by accelerating and pointing the nose down. Good luck with that.

Sad but true analogy...

 

[RickStain]

At least a commenter to the original Crain's story asks the obvious question: How will cutting the product by another 20% make more people, rather than fewer, want to buy it?

Consumers aren't that stupid. Pilot tries to pull out of death spiral by accelerating and pointing the nose down. Good luck with that.

Owners and execs know this isn't the kind of death spiral you pull out of (is there such a thing?).

They are buying time and nothing more. Hoping for a either a miracle or to squeeze a few last dollars out of the companies in the next few year.

They aren't really trying to save things, because they know it's futile.

 

[The Granny]

This truly makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[hwkcrz1]

This is horrible in every way

 

[Mark2010]

Just another day in the ****house. guess the recession isn't over yet, despite what cnbc might say. so I'm going back to hide in my hole.

 

[Fredrick]

I tell you the Chicago Tribune cuts 20 percent of its newsroom?? All online is coming. You folks think I'm crazy. That is absurd. 20 percent???

 

[Football_Bat]

Arlington Heights is gonna own Chicagoland. OH WAIT!

The freaking Sun-Times is going to be the survivor. What the hell.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Arlington Heights is gonna own Chicagoland. OH WAIT!

The freaking Sun-Times is going to be the survivor. What the hell.

Scoop up that Sun-Times stock NOW!

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

The Trib that came to my house this morning was a tabloid. Don't know if that's an aberration or what.

 

[Joe Williams]

The Trib that came to my house this morning was a tabloid. Don't know if that's an aberration or what.

Pretty soon the Trib that will come to your house will be nothing but a bunch of 1's and 0's delivered through your cable or DSL line. Run by a bunch of zeroes, too.

 

[RickStain]

Just another day in the ****house. guess the recession isn't over yet, despite what cnbc might say. so I'm going back to hide in my hole.

This was happening before the recession, and unfortunately will continue after it.

 

[zebracoy]

I tell you the Chicago Tribune cuts 20 percent of its newsroom?? All online is coming. You folks think I'm crazy. That is absurd. 20 percent???

To be fair, that's now only one person.

 

[GeorgeScott]

Paper near me gets the Trib baseball page. God, it's awful. So all readers in my area used to get an outstanding baseball page, now they get an extremely poorly edited page that is unreadable. Tribune Company is killing ALL the papers under its web, and it is having perhaps the worst Sports department in the Trib Chain building baseball pages. More good thinking.