NewzNEW YORK (AP) — Closing out a turbulent summer for the news industry, the McClatchy newspaper chain has made deep cuts at The Miami Herald and other papers it owns across the nation. The union that represents McClatchy journalists said Friday that more than 90 unionized journalists and media workers across 17 publications had been laid off, accounting for about 30 percent of all McClatchy workers unionized with The NewsGuild-CWA. The layoffs have impacted news outlets including The Sacramento Bee, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and others.
“We are waist-deep in the quicksand and we are still sinking,” Carol Marbin Miller, deputy investigations editor of The Miami Herald, said in a phone interview. Marbin Miller, who was not impacted by the layoffs, told The Associated Press she was speaking out to stress how dire the situation was at her paper, where a total of 32 jobs were cut. Those included 28 lost jobs and four positions that were frozen, according to a person familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They included the entire writing staff of El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish-language publication. “Miami is the biggest city in Florida,” Marbin Miller said. I can’t imagine any scenario in which Miami no longer has a vibrant, powerful news outlet.
It’s just too important.” A McClatchy spokesperson did not respond to an email requesting comment or information. newspaper industry has been contracting for two decades, pushed first by the rise of the internet and the decline of classified advertising, then by the fragmentation introduced by social media and evolving user consumption habits. More recently, many newspaper operations have reduced or cut print editions.
Media advocacy groups warn that fewer eyes of accountability are on U.S. communities and their governments and institutions. Internal memo says a ‘different choice’ was required All those laid off from McClatchy were informed on Thursday.
Later, an internal memo from Greg Farmer, executive vice president of local news, seen by the AP, told staff: “For the past five years, McClatchy made a deliberate choice to maintain our investment in local news reporters. We believed continued investment in our journalism would strengthen our relationship with subscribers and our business.” “We measured the results,” … communities and their governments and institutions.Internal memo says a ‘different choice’ was requiredAll those laid off from McClatchy were informed on Thursday.
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