WEHCO cuts back 9 papers’ positions

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette eliminated 27 positions companywide Tuesday, the company’s president said. Another 59 employee positions at eight other WEHCO Media publications were also eliminated.

WEHCO Media, Inc., is the parent company of newspaper and cable television operations of which Walter E. Hussman Jr. is chairman.

No jobs were lost at the company’s cable operations.

The cuts are to maintain a “modest” profit, said Lynn Hamilton, president and general manager of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

“We’re reacting to the economic situations that all newspapers are finding themselves in today,” Hamilton said.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette eliminated eight full-time and eight part-time positions, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Editor Rusty Turner said. That number includes four newsroom positions. The Northwest Arkansas newspaper has about 275 employees.

A number of positions

have gone unfilled, Hamilton said.

The newspaper industry has seen advertising revenue drop since 2007, said Nat Lea,

president and chief executive officer of WEHCO Media.

“We have to change the [WEHCO] businesses to keep them sustainable,” Lea said. “I hope that our readers, advertisers and employees understand that we’re making these changes so that we can

keep each newspaper in its community profitable and sustainable into the future.”

It’s a sad day, however, when an employee loses his job, said Mark Lane, president of WEHCO newspapers.

“So we don’t make these decisions lightly,” Lane said.