If I’m understanding the numbers right, the Trib is cutting 28 newsroom jobs while creating 13 new online jobs, so a net reduction of 15 journalists from an editorial staff of 540 [Hot Type, December 9]. A 3 percent change? Corporate payrolls fluctuate by more than that every year just by accident–what’s the big deal about this?
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It’s not like any of the specific layoffs will have any effect on the coverage of local, state, or international news. WomanNews has been a waste of newsprint for years: its silly parts, like its fashion coverage, were unnecessary or should go to Red Eye, which is aimed at the age cohort that cares about that stuff. Its smart parts–from the Miss Manners column to the serious pieces about honor killings and female circumcision–always should have been in the Tempo section or the main section rather than in a women’s ghetto.
They have made a very small trim and made it entirely around the edges–they have protected metro, national, and international news. They didn’t close any bureaus or cut the foreign-correspondent budget. If anything, the movement of positions to the Web site may have the effect of improving local coverage. So what crime, exactly, is the Tribune Company guilty of here?
