Happy Friday! Media Rattled By Coming Layoffs at the NYT

Story at Politico, if you want to search for it. The basics are as the headline suggests: Even some senior editors at the Times are rumored to be on the chopping block in an effort to cut costs, and the rest of the media is worried, because the Times already slashed staff in 2009 and so was thought to be relatively trim.

The Times has already announced up to 30 layoffs, if it couldn't secure that many voluntary separations through buy-outs, but only a few people have taken that offer. So as of January 24th come the involuntary layoffs.

The Times says this is all perfectly normal.

But sources at the paper, who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity, said this time feels different.

“Whatever sense of invincibility that Times employees still feel after the earlier rounds of cuts is being chipped away in this round,” said one Times guild member, who is not affected by the latest round of cuts.

I didn't see an explanation as to why the NYT's layoffs rattle "the media," as Politico's headline has it, but I suppose it's a matter of the Times being the canary in the coal mine. And what happens to the Times in January will happen to MSNBC and Politico in August.

They shouldn't worry too much about being fired -- after all, this is a vigorous, growing economy with lots of opportunity for work, as they reported throughout the past three years.

So I'm very surprised to see them so worried.

Oh, btw, LiB.

Thanks to @rdbrewer4.

posted by Ace at 08:40 PM

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