NY Times to slash 100 editorial jobs

NY Times to slash 100 editorial jobs

By Joshua Chaffin in New York

Published: February 15 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 15 2008 02:00

The New York Times is planning to eliminate about 100 editorial positions this year, underlining the quickening pace of lay-offs at newspapers as the economy slows and advertising comes under pressure.

Bill Keller, the Times's executive editor, informed employees of the planned cuts at a meeting yesterday and said they would come through a combination of attrition, buy-outs, and possibly lay-offs. The Times noted that its current editorial staff - 1,332 - was the highest in its history.

While the cuts are small compared with other papers, they are significant because the Times has typically invested to add staff, even as rivals have cut back.

The Times's reductions come a day after the Tribune Company announced that it would cut as many as 500 jobs, including up to 150 at the Los Angeles Times.

Newspapers in general have seen revenue growth stall in recent years as readers and advertisers have migrated to the internet. The problem is now being exacerbated by a slowing economy, which is also weighing on advertising. The Times Company last month reported a 13 per cent drop in advertising sales for December.

Sam Zell, who led an $8bn buy-out of Tribune that was completed in December, had pledged in a recent company-wide roadshow that the media group had to find ways to increase revenue and not just cut staff.

Mr Zell reiterated that theme in a memo to staff earlier this week. Yet he also acknowledged the weight of the company's debt load and the difficult advertising environment. "While I will do everything in my power to drive, pull and drag this company forward, I can't promise we won't see additional position eliminations in the future, if we continue at our current rate of cash flow decline," Mr Zell wrote.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times, whose editor resigned last month after refusing to make staff cuts, named a replacement yesterday, Russ Stanton.

Mr Stanton had previously served as the Times's innovation editor and business editor, and is expected to add greater urgency to its online expansion.