Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Idaho Statesman to submit cost reduction plan -- including "possible layoffs" -- to McClatchy by the end of this week

The Idaho Statesman newspaper will submit its cost reduction plan, which could include layoffs, to McClatchy later this week.
Earlier this month The McClatchy Company, owner of the Idaho Statesman, said a rough economy continues hampering business, forcing the paper to cut even more expenses.
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While Vicki Gowler, Editor and Vice President of the paper, did not want to comment on any specifics yet concerning the papers cutback plan, she did say: "It's been really hard on the staff."
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Gowler says by the end of this week they will submit their plan to McClatchy.
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This will be the third time in less than a year the Statesman has laid off some of its staff. Last June, the paper cut 16 jobs and then another 15 last fall.
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When asked if more layoffs for the paper will happen, Gowler said there is potential. How many people could lose their job she did not know.

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

"End of this week" this is the same message the KC Star staff got.

Anonymous said...

Sadly and blindly, the lemming “journalists” back the DNC, any socialist running for office, the stimulus bill, and now their own demise.

Anonymous said...

To all at the KC Star: Hang in there the best you can. It's a sucky situation to be in. After leaving the Star and journalism, I still got laid off at my new job. I wish I would've become a mortician!

Anonymous said...

"KC Star hang in there". Have you read that crap lately?

As a mortician you'd be part of that dead newspaper.

Anonymous said...

It is amazing to me that an industry over 150 years old in our own country is going down in flames because of poor management practices and an unrealistic objective of keeping up with "online news sources." All papers have lost their way. They weren't EVER the "leading source for breaking news." A newspaper was about community. It was the one component of each community that was supposed to have it's fingers on the pulse of what was going on in the immediate area.

We jumped the freakin' shark when we got too big for our britches. When the goal became advertising dollars over content. When columnists were TOLD what to write instead of knowing inherently what topics mattered to those in their area.

It's truly a sad state of affairs. As long as greed and corruption are the pilots of this ship, newspapers as a whole deserve every cut that comes. And, as long as cuts keep coming from production departments and newsrooms, revenue will continue to tank. Only in America would a corrupt and useless executive body be rewarded for sinking the unsinkable ship while throwing the carcasses of the spent workers overboard.

If you work for a paper and haven't developed a contingency plan - you're over a year behind. You'd serve yourself well by developing one.

Anonymous said...

sad to see the Idaho Statesman bubble under, esp. after the joyful escort of Washburn and Crosby to the newsroom door. Ding dong, the witches were gone. But now the party is over. Is it true they might shut down?
To see this state capital paper struggle, and falter, breaks my heart.
Hope all the newsies are finding other careers as this one is tanking. Sorry for the losses in 401k accounts - like a tragedy and death in the family.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:12: Amen Brother

"When the goal became advertising dollars over content" Great Quote!

Anonymous said...

I'm betting that all newspapers report in this Friday on the cost savings plan for each. Then the following week the bomb drops. Next week should be very interesting.

We'll be depending on McClatchy Watch for the reporting. Good luck.

T.H.B. said...

I just lost my job @ The Macon Telegraph in Macon Ga.

I must say, what a sorry sorry company to work for.. Anything tied to McClatchy is a rotten egg.
No one's job is safe in this company. If you can get out, go while you can. The shaft is being handed out.

Anonymous said...

THB, when was this? Were you offered any kind of severance package or just booted out the door like myself? I wish nothing but the worst for this company.

Anonymous said...

Boise indeed was fortunate to get rid of Crosby. She has been wreaking havoc in Phoenix ever since. The toll on talent that she has taken is unbelievable. Yet, the wimpy exec. ed. at The Republic kept her in the last round of layoffs and dumped talented, capable managers instead. She is nothing short of dreadful. I keep waiting for her to get what is coming to her...

Anonymous said...

KC Star - More layoffs, it's the talk everywhere you go.

@www,Kansas city.com -Comment

“...Seems to me, Star reporters need to focus in on their own problems. Trying to shift the focus over to broadcast isn't helping the Star any,

[especially when more layoffs are looming by the end of this week or next.] It happens every fiscal quarter.”

Anonymous said...

Saddened but not surprised. The Statesman is dealing with a rough economny like every paper but also must contend with exec's bad decisions and a severe lack of employee appreciation. Trust me on this.