It’s the same sad song, different sad verse. Today three newspapers announced layoffs or buyout offers that could affect more than 500 jobs altogether. Two are McClatchy papers: the Charlotte Observer, which aims to eliminate about 75 positions, and the Raleigh News & Observer, which is cutting 320 jobs has offered buyouts to 320 employees. The third is the Daily Oklahoman, which is cutting 150 positions.
This is the third round of buyouts/layoffs this year for each of these McClatchy papers. Here in Dallas-Fort Worth, McClatchy’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently announced its fourth such round for the year. (Full disclosure: I work for the CBS TV station in D/FW and compete directly with the S-T.)
If you want a clear visualization of the job losses in the newspaper business just this year, check out Erica Smith’s well-done Google Maps mashup over at graphicdesignr.net/papercuts. (Via graphicdesignr.net)