News cuts staff
Half laid off in retool; Gov talks of helping
harsh financial landscape facing media companies crashed down on the Daily News on Monday as about half the editorial staff was laid off – to the outcry of the city’s and state’s top politicians.
Employees – many in tears – learned whether they would lose their jobs when they were summoned to The News’ downtown Manhattan newsroom for a 9 a.m. meeting. The official word about the depth of the cuts came in an email at 9:12 a.m. from tronc, the Chicago-based company that owns New York’s Hometown Newspaper.
“As you are all aware, we said goodbye to approximately 50% of our colleagues today as we restructured the New York Daily News editorial team to focus on the areas where we can offer the greatest value to our readers in an ever-changing media landscape,” said Grant Whitmore, the paper’s general manager, in a later message to staff. “This is not something we did lightly.”
“I firmly believe that today’s actions will position the Daily News for growth in the years ahead,” he added.
Among those let go were Editor-in-Chief Jim Rich and Managing Editor Kristen Lee, as well as two other names on the masthead: Zach Haberman, head of breaking news, and Daniel JohnsonKim, audience engagement editor.
“I was just laid off by tronc after 6 years working at the New York Daily News,” Johnson-Kim wrote on Facebook. “While there I worked with amazing journalists. You may have seen some of my/our work putting sunlight into the world.”
“As a public company, we have a fiduciary obligation to balance the interests of all of our constituents: shareholders, employees, readers and community,” Justin Dearborn, Chairman and CEO of tronc, said in an email to the remaining employees. “While I know these changes are difficult, I ask for your continued focus, patience and optimism as we continue our evolution and embrace the opportunities ahead.”
Robert York, editor-in-chief of the Allentown (Pa.) MornThe ing Call, will take over The News on July 30.
Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo both blasted the cuts, with the mayor calling it “a disaster for NYC.”
“It’s no secret that I’ve disagreed with the Daily News from time to time,” de Blasio tweeted. “But Tronc’s greedy decision to gut the newsroom is bad for government and a disaster for NYC. Tronc should sell the paper to someone committed to local journalism and keeping reporters on the beat.”
Gov. Cuomo noted in a statement that tronc ordered the layoffs “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,” he said. “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.”
Tronc bought The News last year for $1 from longtime owner Mortimer B. Zuckerman. The company also owns the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, South Florida SunSentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Newport News (Va.) Daily Press, The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va. and the Morning Call.