Tribune’s Newsday Cutting 100 Jobs

Tribune Co.’s Newsday will cut about 100 jobs as part of an effort to trim costs in the wake of a circulation scandal.Newsday’s publisher, Tim Knight, notified employees of the cuts, which will be made through voluntary and involuntary buyouts, in a letter yesterday morning.Newsday has been under mounting pressure to reduce costs since revelations earlier this year that the daily serving New York City and Long Island overstated its circulation going back to 2001.The faulty figures prompted its parent, Tribune, to set aside $90 million to compensate advertisers. Part of the reserve will go to advertisers at its Spanish-language newspaper, Hoy, in New York, which also inflated its circulation figures.“It is clear that we will face continued revenue challenges next year and, as a result, we need to make significant changes in the business in order to have a healthier newspaper for the future,” Mr. Knight said in the letter.News of the job eliminations, which represent about 3% of the Long Island based newspaper’s work force, was also reported on Newsday’s Web site. About half of the cuts are expected to hit the paper’s newsroom, which employs about 570, the Newsday.com report said. The latest cuts come on the heels of two rounds of layoffs in January and June, which reduced the work force by 72 jobs through voluntary buyouts and terminations, the report said.Mr. Knight, who was named publisher in July as part of a management shake-up after the circulation scandal, said the job cuts will be made in various departments throughout the company. “Affected employees will be receiving notification from their managers today and tomorrow,” he said. “Employees receiving voluntary offers will have several weeks to consider the buyout, after which time we will determine whether additional staff reductions are necessary.”Earlier this week, Newsday’s editor, Howard Schneider, resigned amid a difference in opinion with Mr. Knight about how to position Newsday for the future.He was replaced by John Mancini, who has overseen the newspaper’s New York City edition for the last three years.Tribune Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons said last month that Newsday has been making good progress in its effort to settle with advertisers. About 60% of the top 350 advertisers, which includes seven of the top 10 accounts, have either signed agreements or agreed in principle to accept Tribune’s settlement offers, he said.Executives said it is too soon to predict the effect the circulation scandal will have on revenue next year at Newsday, which accounts for about 10% of Tribune’s consolidated revenue.Tribune’s stock price closed yesterday at $43.71, up 0.18% or 8 cents, in volume of 548,100 shares, down from average daily volume of 1 million.

Tribune’s Newsday Cutting 100 Jobs

Tribune’s Newsday Cutting 100 Jobs

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