Is this foreshadowing of what awaits newsrooms in Virginia?
Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Inquirer and Daily News, has announced plans to cut newsroom staffs by about 100 positions, or 16 percent, through buyouts or layoffs, blaming revenues and circulations. Meanwhile, the New York Times will cut 500 jobs, or about four percent of its work force, coming on top of 200 slashed earlier this year; another 160 jobs will be cut from the Boston Globe and related operations, including 35 newsroom jobs. And the San Francisco Chronicle, has bought out 90 employees.
Undoubtedly some of these job cuts reflect productivity gains, particularly in printing, administration and newspaper delivery. But, as I’ve argued before, news gathering is a labor-intensive business — journalism jobs can’t be automated any more than legal or medical jobs. We’re witnessing a real retrenchment in the news gathering apparatus.
This represents a great opportunity for blogs — but only if we can find a business model that actually generates revenue!
