Times’ Staff Cuts

09 February 2009 |permalink | email article

The Gnomes of Temple Street, historically a reliable source, confide that the next round of cuts at The Los Angeles Times affecting 75 reporters from the newsroom will be announced on Monday, President’s Day.

Last Feb. 14, almost a year to the day, a struggling Tribune Co. announced that 40 to 50 jobs in the newsroom would be eliminated through a combination of attrition, voluntary buyouts and, if necessary, layoffs.

Combined with the current downsizing of sections the cuts are another crippling blow to a once great newspaper, winner of many Pulitzer Prizes, which employed some of the best journalists in America.

The understanding is that for once the Tribune did not require the cutbacks, but that Eddy W. Hartenstein, the Times’ newest publisher and chief executive officer believes they will better position the paper in a bankruptcy case in the summer.

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