Hard Times At The N&O?
An individual (who wouldn’t let me take his photograph) stated that the number of press operators working during a specific shift had been reduced from 1/2-2/3, on average. Basically, one way or another 3 people are now doing the job that recently as many as 6 or more would, and that it represented a trend. This person also referenced the buyout of Knight Ridder by The McClatchy Company on several occasions as contributing to the reduction in staff. The USA Today article says about McClatchy:
Although it owes its birth to the California Gold Rush — the chain began in 1857 with The Sacramento Bee— the company takes few risks. It focuses on small to midsize newspapers in its core markets in the Northwest or in growing communities in North and South Carolina.
And a bit more ominously:
Pruitt [CEO] says he expects to cut costs by about $60 million a year.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS feed
Subscribe to posts by Email
Sign up for the Newsletter
02/13/2008
It’s unfortunate, but I think it’s just a sign of the times (no pun intended). I like the N&O, but it’s definitely not a local newspaper trying to do right by its town and their workers – it’s a conglomerate trying to regain traction in an industry that’s changing faster than most can keep up.