Friends,
What kind of fresh hell is this? A.H. Belo Corp. is going to lay off a few dozen employees at my favorite punching bag, The Riverside Press-Enterprise. You know, the employees who didn’t take the buyout because, it must be assumed, they need the job. Here’s a little snippet from the article at the Providence Journal, another of Belo’s properties:
The number of layoffs at the Providence Journal was not provided, with the company noting they are “subject to contractual obligations.” The affected departments are news, editorial, advertising and promotion, according to the company. A letter A.H. Belo sent to employees said the layoffs would also affect about 50 positions at The Dallas Morning News and about 30 positions at The Press-Enterprise.
So the local fishwrap is going to lose about 150 people total between the buyouts and the layoffs. This is terrible news for the families of those employees and our thoughts are with them during this troubled time.
But the larger question is now how (he asked while lacing up his steel toe boots to commence the kicking) can we expect this institution to maintain its current high standards of reportage, integrity, and service to the community? How?
– bob
(via Romanesko)