So is McClatchy about to drop the hammer?

This is so troubling for all of us who work in print news. Good luck to everyone who was let go.

 

A universal desk -- usually part of the death rattle at any paper.

 

As I read the lead to that story, I wonder: what would happen if everyone in a company like this (the folks who are still around that is) simply walked out in protest over how much the CEOs are making while the nuts and bolts folks get laid off, get their pay cut, etc... of course it would never happen ... or the CEOs would be glad because they could hire hacks to replace everyone and cut their payroll expenses further...

 

My paper went to one, kind of, a few months back.

 

I think the term in my little company is "cluster" -- i.e. have one main "hub" where the graphics folks, copy editors (if there are any), advertising, business folks, etc. operate and then satellite offices (i.e. what used to be the community papers) where a few reporters and greeters are stashed ... it works for the most part, saves money, streamlines things, but it's very communist and the variety of community papers in our area lose a lot of their personal touch and nuances that endear it to readers... and of course to get to that point, you've got to cut, cut, cut your personnel... argg.

 

It might vary by state, but I believe you can since you are out of work. You'd probably have to declare the severance pay (sans vacation and earned time off pay) as income to the unemployment agency.

Most agencies, you are allowed to make so much per week and still collect a check. Obviously, a severance check would likely put you over that limit, so you might miss one unemployment week.

 

Wondering who was made to swallow the hemlock in Beaufort.

 

They had to gas a writer/designer a few weeks ago, I think. As small as Beaufort is, that might be the limit of the damage in the newsroom.

 

Also from Bellingham, sports section will lose two pages a day. That means two papers a week will have two pages of sports.

 

I have nothing but empathy and hopeful wishes for all involved.

There have been a lot of terrible, short-sighted decisions in this business the past five years.

But now, it's almost a case of they have to do something. Forget 20 percent profit margins ... the bottom line is shrinking quickly -- possibly partly as a result of some completely wrong-headed earlier cuts.

It's just a terrible cycle -- even for the bad guys at the top, at this point.

I'm not saying those trying to preserve an economic picture that wasn't preservable deserve one second of sympathy. But now, at least to some extent, there seems to be little choice.

 

Folks who took buyouts at local paper were eligible for unemployment once their severance ran out. Even though the severance was paid in a lump sum, the state calculated it by how many weeks' worth you were getting -- in other words, if you left with six months pay, you were eligible for unemployment once the six months was up.

At least in this state, the terminology of buyout vs. layoff wasn't a factor. What was a factor was the newspaper's very public stance that this was a downsizing and that the jobs were not going to be filled. At that point, it didn't matter if you put your name on the list or they put your name on the list. It was a company-driven economic move and that meant unemployment-eligible.