Daily News lays off half of newsroom
NEW YORK — The New York tabloid Daily News cut half of its newsroom staff yesterday including Jim Rich, the paper’s editor in chief — who sent out an embittered tweet ahead of the cuts.
“If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you,” Rich tweeted early yesterday.
The paper was sold to Tronc Inc. last year for $1, with the owner of the Chicago Tribune assuming liabilities and debt.
In an email sent to staff yesterday, Tronc said the remaining staff at the Daily News will focus on breaking news involving “crime, civil justice and public responsibility.”
The newspaper has been a fixture in New York City for the past century. It has won 11 Pulitzer Prizes, including last year for its work with ProPublica on the abuse of eviction rules in New York City.
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged Tronc to reconsider the layoffs, saying they were made without notifying the state or asking for assistance.
“I urge Tronc to reconsider this drastic move and stand ready to work with them to avert this disaster,” Cuomo said in a printed statement. “I understand that large corporations often only see profit and dividends as a bottom line. But in New York, we also calculate loss of an important institution, loss of jobs, and the impact on the families affected. I hope Tronc does the same and recalculates its decision. New York State stands ready to help.”
Revenue and print circulation have been sliding at the newspaper for years, and the paper already had been letting people go. It was not immediately clear how many journalists lost their jobs yesterday. Calls to the paper and Tronc were not immediately returned.
“Since the year began, we’ve worked hard to transform the New York Daily News into a truly digitally-focused enterprise — one that creates meaningful journalism, delivers it more quickly and more frequently, and develops new approaches to engage our readers,” Tronc said in an email to the newsroom. “We’ve gained a deeper understanding of our readership. We’ve redefined our structures. But we have not gone far enough.”
Robert York, editor of Tronc-owned The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., will take over as editor of the Daily News.