IT’S BAD NEWS
Tronc bloodbath halves Daily News’ staff
It was a tough day at the 99year-old Daily News on Monday, when half the newsroom was laid off as the paper’s owner made drastic moves to trim losses.
Tears flowed freely as the deep cuts sliced through every department — and one by one, reporters, columnists and photographers walked out of the office for the last time.
Tronc, the Chicago-based parent, is attempting to change tack and put more emphasis on its digital properties.
The cuts hit hardest in the sports department, on the photo desk — and, oddly, in this digital age on the social media department, which saw every last staffer pinkslipped, sources said.
The cuts tore into the senior editors, with Editor-in-Chief Jim Rich, Managing Editor Kristen Lee, Politics Editor Dareh Gregorian and Breaking News Editor Zach Haberman all getting axed.
Robert York, editor and publisher of the Tron cowned Allentown Morning Call, was tapped to succeed Rich. He will start July 30, staffers were told via e-mail.
The huge job cuts were rumored for a week — and for days, most staffers were on pins and needles. The bad news began Sunday night with ominous e-mails telling staffers that meetings with Executive Vice President Grant Whitmore would begin Monday at 9 a.m.
As some veteran reporters exited Whitmore’s office, they were greeted with a rousing ovation from colleagues. Others received hugs as they shed tears.
An outside security company was hired to oversee the process, which is expected to continue on Tuesday.
The cuts are expected to hit nearly 50 staffers, including:
The photo department, which has but two editors remaining after all 12 staff photographers were pinkslipped. “It was a massacre,” said Todd Maisel, an 18-year veteran photographer. He was reached at the Bavaria Bierhaus — a short walk from the News’ downtown offices — where close to 50 people had gathered by noon.
The sports department, which shrank from 34 staffers to nine. Among those let go were veteran Knicks and NBA reporter Frank Isola, 25year veteran baseball columnist John Harper, writer Peter Botte and Yankees beat writer Mike Mazzeo.
ESPN radio host Michael Kay, a Daily News alum, went on a long rant over the firings, saying, “They completely ravaged the Daily News” — and promised to cancel his digital subscription.
Erin Durkin, a city hall reporter, who got the bad news and then tweeted: “lost my job today along with too many others.”
Tronc said in its e-mail to staffers that it was going to focus on breaking news, politics and crime coverage.
“The decisions being announced today reflect the realities of our business and the need to adapt to an ever changing media environment,” Tronc said in its email. But that did not prevent it from laying off court reporters and city hall staffers.
The Daily News is believed to be losing close to $30 million a year.
Tronc bought the paper last September from real estate mogul Mort Zuckerman for $1. While it focused intently on its digital properties, Web traffic dropped by 40 percent, to just over 14 million unique visitors in June, as it implemented a pay wall.
Monday’s mass layoffs at the Daily News are bad news for New York: This town needs more good reporters, not fewer. The numbers are brutal: a newsroom staff slashed in half; no staff photographers at a place that long billed itself as “New York’s Picture Newspaper.” A sports department down from 34 people to just nine — how can a New York tabloid survive with that?
Yes, the News has been The Post’s competitor for decades, and the rivalry’s often turned bitter. But rivalry has its joys, as well: Even getting beaten to a story is an inspira- tion to do better next time.
Not to mention the family dynamic: Many of our best people have come over from the News, and many of the folks who lost their jobs Monday are Post veterans and friends.
So we shook our heads when the paper was sold for $1 last September, and crossed our fingers on hearing rumors that Monday’s bloodbath was coming.
We sincerely hope the remaining staff can find a way to turn things around. We want to beat the News, but not like this.