Washington Times (aka Mooney Times) cuts journalists, sections

[madinmaryland]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/30/AR2009123002444.html?hpid=newswel

By Neely Tucker
Wednesday, December 30, 2009; 7:08 PM

The Washington Times slashed its 170-member newsroom staff on Wednesday, laying off its top editor and scores of reporters, editors and photographers at the 27-year-old newspaper.

The sports and metro sections will cease to exist as stand-alone entities after Friday's edition, and layoffs in those sections were at or near 100 percent, numerous sources said.

After a somber staff meeting at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, employees received packets that revealed their fates. The newspaper's management did not indicate a total number of layoffs or whether some sections and areas of coverage would be discontinued. .

"Our market-based, forward-looking plan is both a response to the recessionary economy, continued downward financial pressures on the news industry and our transition into a 21st-century multimedia enterprise," said Washington Times President and Publisher Jonathan Slevin in a statement. His office did not answer repeated calls Wednesday.

..snip

[Ken Burch]

1. I didn't know they EMPLOYED journalists.

n/t.

[CreekDog]

2. Sure they did!

they just didn't give them anything to do. :D

[madinmaryland]

3. JINO's.

[Ken Burch]

4. NIce one. Did you just make that up?

For the love of G-d, copyright it NOW!

[muntrv]

5. Cut the moonie times altogether.

[spanone]

6. as if they had journalists. pfffft.

[zbdent]

7. long after they cut facts and reality

from the pages ... that may have been decades ago ...

[jmowreader]

8. Translation

"Richard Mellon Scaife spent so much money buying Sarah Palin's book he can't afford to prop up this newspaper anymore, so the True Father says we've all got to go."

[Ikonoklast]

9. That's a damn shame.

I want them to bravely soldier on, losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

That'll show the naysayers.

[marmar]

10. Oh No! Fewer pages for birds to crap on......

nt