'Washington Post' To Cut 80 Newsroom Jobs, Sources Say

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002156837

The Washington Post plans to cut at least 80 newsroom jobs through attrition and buyouts, according to sources at the paper who said editors began giving staffers the bad news on Thursday in meetings and continued today.

"My understanding is that the editors and managing editors brought this up with other issues of downsizing, but with no layoffs," said one source in the metro staff, which got first word of the news in a meeting Thursday. "It looks like through attrition and buyouts."

A source in the national staff said a meeting was held this morning to give them the bad news, with similar gatherings throughout the day. "Eighty through attrition and buyouts," the source said. "They are going staff by staff."

The paper has more than 800 editorial employees, many represented by the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild. Rick Weiss, a Post reporter and Guild unit chair at the paper, could not be reached for comment this morning.

Another national staff writer, who attended this morning's meeting, said editors raised the issue of travel costs as well, saying the paper would continue to travel with major government figures, but hinting that other travel may be curtailed. The reporter said people were unsurprised by the announcement. "There was no slash and burn, no doom and gloom," the source said. "They said the model is changing."

[MADem]

1. Well, hell, stenographers are cheaper! n/t

[havocmom]

4. TV talking heads should take note!

Why pay multiple salaries if only one script gets read?

Next up:
Drastic drop in hair salon business as talking heads get axe from Corporate Media CEOs!

Stylists in every major city begging on street corners, holding signs saying "Will coif for food".

In related news:
Plummeting hair spray and make up sales blamed on Iran!

[MADem]

5. They'll get ANANOVA's for TV

So long as the feed is inputted properly, they'll be like Max Headrooms...no fancy salaries, and perhaps they'll even get to the point where the viewer can design their OWN newsreader--so you can listen to Dolly Parton doing Dildo Reallly, or Fred Flintstone doing Tweety's show!

[havocmom]

11. "Dildo Really"? LOL

Oh, my that's choice! We need a loofah award for you!
:rofl:

[onehandle]

12. $18.99 at Amazon.

Courier it to Rove. Rove sends it back.

We have our headlines.

[electropop]

2. Who needs reporters

when you can use stenographers who simply insert all the right wing's press releases into the paper? SO much cheaper and less messy.

[glitch]

6. Who needs stenographers? Some college or high school intern can just cut

and paste straight from the corporate (and by corporate I include the white house and executive branch) press release.

[electropop]

7. In fact, they could just link straight to the RSS newsfeeds from

the White House, the RNC, and Grover Norquist. All nice and automated. A newsroom full of humming computers, and no people.

[glitch]

10. Even better... they've probably already thought of it. nt

[Mika]

3. "the paper would continue to travel with major government figures"

Great. Nothing but "the White House says.." so called "journalism".

But the economy is doing great! :eyes:

[glitch]

8. Hopefully this will piss off 80 new whistleblowers

More journalists for the true media.

[EuroObserver]

9. Good night and good luck. End of message.

[depakid]

13. Continuing the downward spiral

The Post has to stay ahead of the Times in the race to the bottom....

[Rose Siding]

14. Maybe they'll just subscribe to the Fox News feed

[Solo_in_MD]

15. Many here are missing the point

The cuts are due to fiscal realities, not politics. The income is not there to support the mega papers, and its even worse at the smaller ones. As the last line says, the model is changing.

Ads are the lifeblood of publicans, even those you pay for. Craigslist and Ebay have decimated the classifieds. Circulation is stagnant or worse and costs are rising. Advertisers are looking elsewhere and are forcing lower prices.

Do you subscribe to a major paper or buy it regularly? Did you in the past?

[0007]

16. Is this junior's way of cutting down on the leaks?