Bad news on two fronts today at New England newspapers owned by out-of-state chains.
First, the Providence Journal announced earlier today that it was eliminating 23 jobs. According to Jim Romenesko, the layoffs include photographers and the paper’s only librarian. Reporters and columnists were reportedly not part of the cut. The Journal is part of the Belo chain of Dallas.
Second, the Eagle-Tribune papers north of Boston have cut 21 positions at their four daily newspapers and several related publications, writes the Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack. The dailies are the Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, the Daily News of Newburyport, the Salem News and the Gloucester Daily Times. The company is owned by CNHI, based in Montgomery, Ala.
More: Wallack has more on the Eagle-Tribune layoffs.
Eagle-Tribune layoffs include 2 reporters in NH office, plus 2 part-time sports writers for newspaper group @dankennedy_nu
— Todd Wallack (@TWallack) November 8, 2012
Meanwhile, E-T reporter Mike McMahon, who covered Merrimack College hockey, writes about getting laid off.
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Mike Benedict
Apparently these smaller papers didn’t reap the financial benefit of an election year.
Or they reaped it, and now will pare staff in anticipation of lower spending to come.
Lou Gawab
I’ve been watching the (Lawrence) Eagle-Tribune get lighter and lighter over the past few years….It’s turned into “The Incredible Shrinking Paper” The content level has gone down to just a couple of local stories per day (mostly AP stuff.) How much further can they decrease in size, content circulation? When will the Teachers Union that own them have to get out from under it?
Laurence Glavin
They invested in a string of AM radio stations in Lawrence, Haverhill, amd Beverly, MA (800; 1490; 1570) and Salem, NH (1110). This is not part of their core business model (3 of the 4 stations are all-Spanish). Now to raise funds, they may try to sell them off probably at bargain-basement prices. Anybody working at any of these stations may join the unemployment line with the newspaper staff members.