DetNews job cuts: 10 journalists

The Detroit News plans to cut about 10 jobs

By The Associated Press

The Detroit Media Partnership and The Detroit News are planning layoffs.

Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the partnership, said Friday 129 positions will be cut, including about 25 previously announced at the Detroit Free Press.

Harshbarger says about 10 positions will be cut at the News, including editorial and management positions. He said 90 reductions were effective Friday at the partnership, which oversees the business operations at both newspapers.

The reductions represent about 5 percent of the News' staff, 7 percent at the partnership and 10 percent at the Free Press.

Harshbarger said a continued economic downturn and a steep decline in advertising revenue led to the decision, but no further cuts are expected. He said affected News staffers will be notified by the end of June.

They took a lot of people out of the partnership today, it was horrible. Most of the people were completely blindsided.

You're probably right. Sunshine and rainbows were over the Evil Empire today.

My sympathies to those that have lost their jobs, but it is hard to believe that none of them expected this. You can't keep people employed if there is no work for them [[i.e. less papers being sold).

Oldred, there have been so many job cuts in this area! I know you're upset, but with such a down-turn, how can you blame management?

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Originally Posted by oldredfordette

They took a lot of people out of the partnership today, it was horrible. Most of the people were completely blindsided. Greedy incompetent stupid motherfuckers, Gannett and their little toady partners.

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Red,
I'd be careful what you type about your employer. A company laying people off doesn't need any more of an excuse to fire you, too. :[[

It takes many many many people to produce a daily newspapers. A very tiny number are journalists, the rest of the work was done by hundreds of unseen workers, people who care deeply about their work and their product. Some of the jobs were sort of logical, given the business losses. Some of them were just bizarre, random department cuts that will hurt production.

It's just mean. It was a mean and ugly day today.

This "downturn" is due to the short-sighted stupidity of the US newspapers.

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Originally Posted by Reality_Check

Harshbarger said a continued economic downturn and a steep decline in advertising revenue led to the decision, but no further cuts are expected.

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No further cuts? Don't you wish he could be held to that lie?

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Originally Posted by oldredfordette

It takes many many many people to produce a daily newspapers. A very tiny number are journalists, the rest of the work was done by hundreds of unseen workers, people who care deeply about their work and their product. Some of the jobs were sort of logical, given the business losses. Some of them were just bizarre, random department cuts that will hurt production.

It's just mean. It was a mean and ugly day today.

This "downturn" is due to the short-sighted stupidity of the US newspapers.

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It may feel good to blame local management [[like a broken record) but this "downturn" is the product of a long-term decline in newspaper revenue and a devastating recession. Newspapers worldwide are losing money and firing people.

News is essentially free today for anyone with internet access. Changing that is the only way to rebuild the newspaper business. But consumers have resisted paying for content on the internet. Many newspapers have tried and found it unworkable. Perhaps current problems will eventually lead back to the pay-for-news model.

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Originally Posted by Cooper

. . . no further cuts are expected . . . Don't you wish he could be held to that lie?

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The aptly named Harshbarger pirouettes precariously on that qualifier at the end of his . . . oh, let's just say wishful thinking.

Kind of like a politician saying "I don't expect to run for higher office."

Please someone tell me they laid off that hack Charlie LeDuff.

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Originally Posted by Blarf

Please someone tell me they laid off that hack Charlie LeDuff.

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I wouldn't bet on that. LeDuff is the New's "equivalent" to the Freep's Albom. And, they're both sucky.