There were more layoffs at The San Diego Union Tribune. The daily paper announced that 112 workers were released yesterday – this in addition to 192 people who were laid off since Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity took over.
Among the reported casualties are photo editor David Poller, former sports editor Chuck Scott, assistant arts editor David Coddon, North County Inland Editor Jim Okerblom and technology editor Brian Cragin. Also, longtime reporters Emmet Pierce and Mark Arner, and photographer Laura Embry. The highest profile staff members reported laid off so far are editorial page editor Robert A. Kittle and opinion page editor Bernie Jones. Also 11 workers in the pressroom and three in maintenance have been let go.
A story posted on SignOnSanDiego.com this afternoon by staff writer Thomas Kupper reports that the layoffs are part of a series of initiatives including pagination.
“The San Diego Union-Tribune said Wednesday that it is eliminating an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a package of initiatives that also includes new editorial and advertising offerings.
The company announced an advertising program that will allow micro-zoning for small businesses at lower, localized rates, as well as an editorial effort that will produce more local coverage of targeted communities.
It also announced a planned redesign of the company’s SignOnSanDiego.com Web site, as well as an investment in a pagination publishing system it said would significantly streamline the newspaper’s production process.
The company also said it would partially reverse pay cuts for remaining employees that were implemented in February.
“These initiatives, taken as a whole, strike a balance between our short-term economic reality and our long-term aspirations for growth and reinvention of our product,” Union-Tribune Publisher Ed Moss said.”
The U-T management did not say how a much reduced newsroom would produce more local coverage. It has been widely speculated that as soon as pagination was implemneted that the U-T would outsource its printing.
— Ron James
