The Ledger-Enquirer is cutting its work force for the second time in three months as part of a larger corporate downsizing and restructuring.
Valerie Canepa, president and publisher of the Ledger-Enquirer, in an e-mail to staffers Wednesday, said nine positions are being eliminated at the city's major daily newspaper. That includes four full-time employees and another five open positions that will not be filled.
"The necessity of such painful steps is especially disappointing because we believed the cuts made two months ago would be sufficient to see us through the sharp revenue declines that have beset the newspaper industry," Canepa said in the e-mail.
More:
In its first round of cuts in June, McClatchy eliminated 1,400 jobs. The Ledger-Enquirer at the time reduced its staff by 10 positions, or 5 percent, through voluntary buyouts. That included five newsroom positions.
The current local downsizing amounts to 4.5 percent of the company's 194 full- and part-time staffers. It comes from across the company and includes a portion of one newsroom position. Those receiving the current buyouts will receive severance pay and a continuation of benefits.
The buyouts include two of the Ledger-Enquirer's top executives. Pat Stubbs, vice president of operations, will retire by Dec. 1, while advertising director Jodi Bell is returning to her hometown of Mobile, Ala.
.
7 comments:
The obvious reason for the Columbus Ledgers' decline in subscriptions is that it shoots itself in the foot with an incompetent "religion editor" right in the Bible belt. Allison Kennedy, their religion editor has shown a personal vendetta against large baptist churches in that region. She deliberately stirs controversy in the community by negative reporting against them. What's worse is that her stories are full of unchecked and unreliable sources. Her sole objective is to get her name on front page. She single-handily has turned the Columbus Ledger Enquirer into "The National Enquirer" gossip model. As a result the community continues to cancel subscriptions and her supervisors can't connect the dots. A local doctors' group told me first hand that they cancelled 8 subscriptions per day for their office because of the attacks on their church. They are losing dollars because she's broken hundreds of relationships with the most supportive people in the community.I'm a former editor and no one of her ethics or lack of, would be tolerated at any of the professional organizations that I have worked for. If she were fired today, subscriptions would soar in support of that decision. I'm African American, and though race may be alive and well in the South, religion is still the big dividing line here. This woman is devious, proven to be reckless when given freedom, and an insult to professional journalism. I retired here because of the family and climate, and have watched this lady destroy the climate of trust in their local paper. While the editors and bookkeeprs at the McClatchy organization are thinking it's the economy here that hurts their profits, it isn't. It's the religion editor who has cost them advertisers and subscriptions by attacking their base support that was here for 20 years.
I completely agree with the writer above. Allison Kennedy of the Columbus Ledger is the worst excuse for a journalist that could possibly be employed. Nothing about her is professional. McClatchy can count on losing subscribers in that area because of her divisive attacks on large churches. One church of 7,000, another of 3,000 and another of 1,000 in membership has been the ongoing fixation of this lady. Those churches have done tremendous good in the small community and yet she digs for anything negative she can to hurt them. That's over 11,000 people she insults in a community of less than 40,000 subscribers. I agree with the writer above. McClatchy needs to connect the dots.
As a former journalist you would know that Allison Kennedy isn't an editor. She is the religion reporter. You are obviously connected to the churches that she has written about and thus you are not objective. Sure, she's not very good as a reporter, but she has not been hurting that newspaper that much. And, for the record, a quick check of the ABC numbers show there are more than 40,000 subscribers to the newspaper. You are both incorrect.
I am not connected with a church in that area or one at all for that matter, but I too, have seen the "garbage" she is allowed to pass off as journalism. What would it matter if one or both of those writing above were connected to a church? Their facts are still valid and I think, a correct assessment of one very big reason for such a decline in subscriptions. Thank you McClatchy Watch for your forum.
I agree also with those comments above. I used to subscribe to that paper but the relentless divisive attacks of that same reporter, Allison Kennedy caused me and MANY of my friends to cancel our subscriptions. McClatchy needs to wake up down here. Letting her go her would equal the cost savings of dismissing 7 or 8 others. First it would save $$ in her wasted salary & benefits, and second it would save large sums of $$ in the loss of cancellations they receive each time she attacks the good people in the community that used to be the support base of the paper.
I was once a subscriber to the Columbus Ledger and I can attest that the comments above are accurate. It has a pattern of slandering high profile people in an attempt to boost sales. That's a foolish business strategy. After 20 years of receiving it, I was disgusted and cancelled. I have not missed it at all. Neither has my cat!
Total agreement. Allison Kennedy is a liability to an already failing news organization.
Post a Comment