Advertiser Sold to Star-Bulletin, Making Honolulu a One-Newspaper Town; 300 Laid Off

The sale of The Honolulu Advertiser to Honolulu Star-Bulletin owner David Black was completed by Gannett this morning, leaving at least 300 people out of work and a community less served.

Rick Daysog of the Advertiser writes:

"It's hard to close this chapter and begin a new one," Robert Dickey, president of Gannett U.S. Community Publishing, wrote in an e-mail to Advertiser employees Friday. "But in doing so, I want to sincerely thank you for your dedication to The Honolulu Advertiser and wish you all the best."

Gannett's exodus and the eventual merger of The Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin will leave Honolulu as a one-newspaper town and result in the loss of at least 300 jobs.

For the next estimated 30 to 60 days, The Advertiser will publish as a stand-alone newspaper run by third-party HA Management Inc.

The two dailies will be merged into a single broadsheet newspaper known as The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which will have a combined daily circulation of 135,000 to 140,000, Dennis Francis, the Star-Bulletin's publisher told Daysog. The Star-Advertiser will employ between 300 and 600 people. The two newspapers currently have 900 employees between them.

"I know there's a lot of angst in the community about losing a newspaper but the community decided long ago that it could not support two newspapers," Francis told Daysog. "That decision was made by readers and advertisers."

Daysog also writes:

Former media executives say the loss of an editorial voice will have a long-lasting impact on the local community.

The layoff of scores of journalists will mean that hundreds of stories will go unwritten each year, they said.

"It's a real tragedy," said Gerry Keir, who worked at The Advertiser for 27 years, rising to editor before leaving in 1995. "I don't think there's any question that the community is the loser."

Weekly Peoria Times-Observer to Cease Publication

Newspaper closures are playing in Peoria as the Time-Observer, a free weekly, has announced its last publication will be April 28. The newspaper had been delivered free to homes in North Peoria and Dunlap.

Citing the changing media landscape, TimesNewspapers’ publisher Linda Smith Brown announced the publication’s cessation.

“Our goal is to discern how to best serve the Peoria greater market and we are shifting our focus to Woodford County at this time,” Brown said.

“TimesNewspapers will be utilizing our manpower and resources to launch a new publication.”

Longtime editors of the Peoria Times-Observer, DeWayne Bartels and Tom Batters, will produce the new Woodford Times, which will begin publishing May 5, with delivery to Metamora, Eureka and Germantown Hills households, Brown said.

There is no word on the fate of the other six people listed in the staff's contact box on its website. One of those people is Brown.

Newspaper Layoffs Drop in February

Newspapers laid off fewer employees in February, as only 112 new job reductions were reported nationwide.

The caveat to this is that more than 600 employees of the Honolulu Advertiser have received notices of their possible layoff. They will lose their if David Black, owner of the Star-Bulletin, cannot find a buyer by May. If that happens, the two papers will merge and an undetermined number of layoffs will occur.

Here are February's layoff reports.

Feb. 26: Skagit Valley Herald of Mount Vernon, Wash., nine people, according to Paper Cuts.
Feb. 24: The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., 14 people.
Feb. 24: Paddock Publications will begin printing the Northwest Herald, the Daily Chronicle, the Kane County Chronicle and the Lake County Journal, The MidWeek and other Shaw Suburban Media newspapers at its production facility in Schaumburg, Ill., near Chicago by mid-April, 31 people will be affected.
Feb. 24: Sun Tribune in the Kansas City area, 10 people.
Feb. 22: Whitehorse (Wash.) Community News, at least one person.
Feb. 18: Wilmington (N.C.) Star News, two people, a managing editor and a photo editor.
Feb. 18: Minneapolis Star Tribune, up to five people are being sought for buyouts.
Feb. 16: Naples (Fla.) Daily News, at least seven people.
Feb. 15: Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune, two people.
Feb. 11: E.W. Scripps Co. will consolidate copy-desk operations of the Ventura County (Calif.) Star, the Redding (Calif.) Record Searchlight and the Kitsap (Wash.) Sun into the Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times, 15 people.
Feb. 6: Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 people.
Feb. 5: The Edmond (Okla.) Sun, one person -- a business reporter.

Here are the totals for 2010:

January -- 451 people.
February -- 93 people.

For a map that locates these layoffs and others, see Paper Cuts, a website by Erica Smith, who has been tracking newspaper layoffs since 2007.

All of News Cycle's monthly reports are categorized under Monthly Layoff Report.

A number of readers have asked by the discrepancy between our numbers and that of Paper Cuts. I counted in 2009's figures a large Gannett layoff that was announced in December last year, but was not effective until January. In addition, I have not counted the Honolulu figure of 600 as of yet.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Honolulu Newspaper Employees Wait for News About Their Job Layoffs

Employees at Honolulu's two newspapers are still trying to make sense of a buyout that could put them out of work, writes Duane Shimogawa of HawaiiNewsNow tonight.

Both dailies employ 900 people and all of their fates are still up in the air a day after news broke the owner of the Star-Bulletin is buying the Advertiser.

Union leaders say it's still too early to tell how many people will be laid off. They say they haven't met with the new owners just yet. But they did sit down with the Hawaii Newspaper and Printing Trades Council and later on Friday, they met with Gannett officials, the owners of the Advertiser, to talk about the future of employees of both papers.

There are a total of nine unions at both the Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin that cover a total of about 600 employees, around 400 at the Advertiser and 200 at the Star-Bulletin.

The Hawaii Newspaper Guild represents employees from both papers.

"The company's obligated to bargaining with us, Gannett to bargain with us over the effects of the sale and how it affects employees," Hawaii Newspaper Guild's Wayne Cahill said.

We do know retirees will keep their pensions and all workers will continue under their current contracts for now.

"The company has the right to do layoffs under both union contracts," Cahill said. "They have to do any layoffs by seniority that is that most recently hired would be the first to be fired."

Cahill says Advertiser employees are guaranteed their jobs until the day of the sale.

105,000 People Have Lost Jobs in Newspapers Since 2001

Since the advent of the Internet age in 2001, about 105,000 people have lost their jobs in the U.S. newspaper industry, writes Erik Sass of MediaPost Publications. This represents at 25 percent drop over that period of time as the government reports that 309,000 people were employed by newspapers at the end of 2009.

To put that in perspective, the U.S. auto industry shed about 450,000 jobs over the same period, with total employment dropping from 1.3 million to 850,000, for a 33% decline. High-tech employment lost 700,000 jobs, slipping 11% from 6.6 million to 5.9 million. In short, the newspaper business is about where many would expect, in terms of percentage losses -- worse off than high-tech but a little bit better than the auto industry.

Still, publishers have made an effort to preserve their newsroom headcounts, although some ax-swinging was clearly unavoidable. From 2001-2009, newspaper newsrooms lost a total 9,700 jobs, for a 17% decline from 56,400 to 46,700. The vast majority of cuts fell on business, administrative, production and circulation employees. (It's also worth noting many senior newsroom staff with relatively high salaries were probably replaced with younger, lower-paid journalists at entry-level positions.)

More alarming is the rate of decline in both total employment and newsroom employment, which has accelerated markedly over the last decade.

After losing an average 3.5% per year from 2001-2006, in 2007-2009, the average rate of loss increased to 5% per year. After a period of relative stability, newsroom losses grew steeper toward the end of the period: Total employment declined by an average 1% per year from 2001-2006, then accelerated to 5% from 2007-2009, including an 11% drop from 2008-2009.

I would argue that the newsroom figure must be low. News Cycle recorded more than 15,000 jobs lost in the industry in 2009 alone. The vast majority of the losses were editorial. Erica Smith's website Paper Cuts also came up with a similar number.

For full disclosure, I have been twice dismissed by layoff from newspaper positions, but only once during this time period.

Whitehorse Community News Closes Its Doors

The Whitehorse Community News, a monthly newspaper in the Darrington, Wash., area with about 2,000 readers, is closing its doors, Mike Benbow and Michelle Dunlop of the Everett (Wash.) Hearld write.

The owner, Joe Day, said the paper paid its expenses, but didn’t provide much revenue for himself. It was a lot of work, he noted. Day said he hates to see the paper shut down, but that nobody has stepped forward to continue producing it.

Amy Rolph of the Herald wrote about the apparent one-man operation on her blog:
His doctor says it's time to walk away from the stress. And Day — worn down from years of proofreading and layout deadlines — finally agrees.

“Despite the growing public interest, our economy has dictated that the paper cannot stand on its own,” Day wrote in a letter to subscribers this month.

He broke tough news in the letter: “I don't have any money to pay back the unused portion of your subscription.”

So just like a growing number of larger newspapers across the country, Day's tiny labor of love ends with a sad finale: the farewell issue.

The Whitehorse Community news will print for the last time in early March.

“It'll be all right,” said Day, talking Tuesday afternoon from his home in Darrington. “I'm sad to see it go — and I'm really glad it's going. It's an incredible amount of work. It's really draining.”

In his February issue, Day solicited other community members to step up and take over the paper's publication. But so far, no one else seems to want to work for free, he said.

The paper's mission statement is printed on the second page of its February issue, featuring a conspicuous use of the past-tense.

“The purpose of this newspaper was to provide a forum for discussion, a platform for inexpensive business advertising, a source for local information and a place for aspiring writers to be published.”

Day said the paper served a more personal purpose, too. A former union electrician, he studied graphic design at Everett Community College after an injury left him unable to work.

“But nobody wanted to hire a 53-year-old graphic designer who had no practical experience,” Day said. “That was quite a blow for me. I had to do something with my time.”

Day told Rolph that he never saw a reason for a website: “(The website) never materialized, and I didn't see any reason for it anyway. It's just for Darrington, a way to give folks around here a voice.”

U.S. Newspaper Layoffs in January; Numbers Down, But Trouble Signs Ahead

Newspapers in the United States reported layoffs and job cuts of 500 people throughout the month of January, News Cycle finds. It's only one-fifth of the 2,252 layoffs reported in January 2009.

The largest cut came as The Los Angeles Times announced on Jan. 8 that it would shut down its printing operations in Orange County, leaving 80 people out of work.

On the same day, the Booth Newspaper group announced that it will lay off workers at the Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle and Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, but did not report the number of people to be let go. The website Paper Cuts reported 19 job losses from the Chronicle, 65 from the Press, and at least 70 from the Gazette. Paper Cuts also reported that advertising production will be outsourced to a Pennsylvania company. An outbound call center for the three newspapers will be consolidated in Kalamazoo, and copy editing, design and printing for the three papers will be consolidated in Grand Rapids.

Despite the lower layoff numbers to start this year, local TV, radio, newspapers, and national magazines likely will sustain further revenue declines (albeit at decelerating rates), according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

Editor and Publisher.com writes:

S&P notes that while the last part of 2009 should "bring easier year-over-year financial comparisons ... the credit outlook is still grim for these issuers, and we think that even the first quarter of 2010 could still see lower revenues and earnings."

Online media keeps grabbing advertising share from traditional media. Search related advertising will keep growing while total online ad spend will be likely flat to down. Mobile and online video advertising is anticipated to "sprout vigorously," according to S&P.

Meanwhile, last week MAGNA released its 2010 ad forecast and concluded that Q1 of this year will represent the last quarter of decline for the U.S. advertising economy this recession. MAGNA revised its advertising outlook for 2010 to flat (down 0.1%) from a decline of 1.3%.

This year, advertising spending direct online is anticipated to grow 12.2%, while local online is forecast to increase 3.7%. National newspapers (excluding online advertising) are expected to loose 11.2% in ad revenue in 2010. Ad spending at local newspapers (also excluding online revenue) should drop 10.7%.

Here are the layoffs in the U.S. newspaper industry, as recored by News Cycle:

Jan. 31: Santa Maria (Calif.) Times, five people.
Jan. 29: Pocono Business Journal, will end its monthly publication with the February issue. Three people will be let go.
Jan. 29: Jackson (Miss.) Sun, 11 people.
Jan. 22: Greenwood Lake and West Milford News in upstate New York, ceases publication; seven people.
Jan. 21: Longview (Texas) News-Journal, 11 people.
Jan. 20: Rock Hill (S.C.) Herald, seven people.
Jan. 20:The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn., nine people.
Jan. 19: Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, 16 people.
Jan. 19: Charlotte Observer, 25 people.
Jan. 14: The State of Columbia, S.C., 12 people. The paper let go more than a dozen workers in June 2008 and 38 workers in March 2009.
Jan. 14:The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., two people.
Jan. 13: The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, 28 people. Seventeen more unfilled positions were eliminated as well.
Jan. 13:The South Florida Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, 10 people.
Jan. 12: The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, 25 people.
Jan. 12: -The Sunday News of Lancaster, Pa., six people.
Jan. 11: The News & Observer of Raliegh, N.C., 21 people.
Jan. 9: Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune, two people, including the executive editor. An additional position of news director was eliminated.
Jan. 8: The Los Angeles Times will shut down its printing operations in Orange County, 80 people.
Jan. 8:The Booth Newspaper group says it will lay off workers at the Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle and Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, but did not report the number of people to be let go. But Paper Cuts reports 19 job losses from the Chronicle, 65 from the Press, and at least 70 from the Gazette. Paper Cuts reports that advertising production will be outsourced to a Pennsylvania company, and tht 100 will be let go from the Gazette. An outbound call center for the three newspapers will be consolidated in Kalamazoo, and copy editing, design and printing for the three papers will be consolidated in Grand Rapids.
Jan. 7: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 27 editorial people, mostly on the copy desk.
Jan. 6: The Flint (Mich.) Journal, six people.
Jan. 6: The Telegraph of Hudson, N.H., three people, according to Paper Cuts.

Here is a month-by-month breakdown of the 15,114 job losses in the newspaper industry in 2009:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Here are the totals for 2010:

January -- 451 people.
February -- 93 people.

For a map that locates these layoffs and others, see Paper Cuts, a website by Erica Smith, who has been tracking newspaper layoffs since 2007.

All of News Cycle's monthly reports are categorized under Monthly Layoff Report.

A number of readers have asked by the discrepancy between our numbers and that of Paper Cuts. I counted in 2009's figures a large Gannett layoff that was announced in December last year, but was not effective until January. In addition, I have not counted the Honolulu figure of 600 as of yet.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry..

Newspaper Layoffs Spike in December

Employees in the newspaper industry took another hit over the holidays as 752 people lost their jobs in December 2009. That brought the total number of people who lost their jobs in the industry in 2009 to 15,114, according to News Cycle's survey.

That means December was the worse month since July.

Leading the charge was a major shake up at The Washington Times, where an estimated 148 people were let go. Other heavy hitters included The Oregonian, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Journal News of Westchester, N.Y. The New York Times completed its job reduction process in December by laying off 26 people. Those people were counted in October's figure when the buyouts were announced.

We also said good bye to Editor & Publisher, which for a century was the industry's leading trade journal.

Here is December's rundown:

Dec. 21: Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, five people.
Dec. 18: Los Angeles Times, at least nine people as reported by laobserved.com here and here.
Dec. 15: Jacksonville Business Journal, an online editor, the paper's third layoff this year.
Dec. 10: Editor & Publisher, the trade journal of record will cease publication at the end the year, 10 editorial people.
Dec. 10: Hopi Tutuveni, which covered the Hopi lands of Arizona, will cease publication on Dec. 18, two people.
Dec. 9: Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc. of Rockleigh , N.J., a newspaper delivery company, 96 people. The layoffs are the result of a decision by The New York Times Co., one of its clients, to shift customer service and other functions to another vendor.
Dec. 7: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 39 non-newsroom employees. The layoffs come from advertising, circulation and other business departments.
Dec. 7: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 53 people through a consolidation of REACH production operations.
Dec. 7: The Oregonian, 70 people will be laid off.
Dec. 7: The New York Times announced that 74 people took the buyout offered on Oct. 19. Gawker.com is publishing the list of names. That means 26 people will be laid off on Dec. 31.
Dec. 5: Macon (Ga.) Telegraph, four non-editorial employees.
Dec. 4: San Fransico Chronicle, 12 circulation, finance and internet employees.
Dec. 4: Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star, 11 people.
Dec. 3: The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y., outsource its printing to Rockaway, N.Y., 166 people.
Dec. 2: Las Vegas Sun, 30 people.
Dec. 2: Miami Herald, 24 people.
Dec. 2: Washington Times, at least 40 percent of its staff of 370 people. That would total 148 people.
Dec. 2: The Journal Times of Racine, Wisc., at least three people in billing.
Dec. 1: USA Today and USA Weekend, 37 people.
Dec. 1: The Washington Post, three news aids.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Greg Mitchell Speaks to CJR About Editor & Publisher's Demise

Greg Mitchell spoke with Columbia Journalism Review assistant editor Greg Marx about the quick death of Editor & Publisher.

CJR: Did you guys see this coming? It certainly came as a surprise to us, hearing about it.

Greg Mitchell: It was kind of a shock to us, only tempered by the fact that for the past month there had been online reports that there was some sort of deal that Nielsen was about to sell a bunch of magazines. And according to the reports, we were part of that deal; in other reports, we weren’t.

So it wasn’t a shock in the sense that we knew something was boiling, and that quite likely there would be some kind of sale. But we thought either we would be part of the deal, or we would be left behind and that would be OK, too. But not that we would fold this quickly, and with no online [presence]. It’s just sort of totally ceased publication.

CJR: So the Web site is going to disappear entirely?

GM: Unless there’s an outpouring of support and outrage, and people step forward, which could certainly happen. As of now, we’re here until the end of the year. We can come into the office until the end of the year; we’ll be at our phones and our desks, staying together. But there’s absolutely no plans for Nielsen to print the magazine or keep the Web site going.

CJR: What’s the general mood like there?

GM: Again, I think people are shocked. It’s a weird situation here—Nielsen owns forty-some magazines broken into three different units, and we were part of the unit with the magazines that have been sold, Brandweek and Adweek and Hollywood Reporter and so forth. And this all happened at the same time, so you have dozens of people on the same floor here being taken into meetings about their new owner, and trying to figure out what’s ahead for them. And at the same time, we’re hearing that we’re ceasing. So it’s kind of a strange day.

Editor & Publisher to Cease Operations

The journalism trade journal of choice since 1901, Editor & Publisher, is closing its doors.

The Nielsen Co., made the announcement this morning. Staffers were told both forms of E&P, online and print, were to cease operations. Staffers will remain until the end of the year.

The magazine's owner, Nielsen Business Media agreed with e5 Global Media Holdings, LLC, which was formed jointly by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners, for the sale of eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, Shawn Moynihan wrote on E&P's website. The sale includes E&P sister magazines Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter. E&P was not included in this transaction.

Editor & Publisher was launched in 1901 when it merged with The Journalist, which was created in 1884. It has long been considered the absolute bible of the newspaper trade with its reporting on all phases of the business from advertising and editorial to production and circulation.

Greg Farrar, president of Nielsen Business Media, released this memo:

Dear Colleagues,

Today, we announced that Nielsen Business Media has reached an agreement with e5 Global Media Holdings, LLC, a new company formed jointly by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners, for the sale of eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, including Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, The Clio Awards, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media Holdings has also agreed to acquire our Film Expo business, which includes the ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International and CineAsia trade shows.

In addition, we've made the decision to cease operations for Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews.

This move will allow us to strengthen investment in our core businesses – those parts of our portfolio that have the greatest potential for growth – and ensure our long-term success. We remain committed to building our trade show group and affiliated brands. These assets continue to be a key part of The Nielsen Company's overall portfolio and we strongly believe they are positioned to grow as the economy recovers. In addition, we'll continue to assess the strategic fit of our remaining portfolio of publications.

As a result of these decisions, many of our friends and colleagues within these businesses will be leaving the company or will begin to transition to the new ownership immediately. These venerable brands have long been an important part of our Business Media family, and we are pleased that e5 will continue to capitalize on the brands' potential. The transition is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Pluribus Capital was founded in 2009 by James Finkelstein, George Green and Matthew Doull to focus on acquiring and managing industry leading media properties with high growth potential, particularly those with strong brand recognition across multiple platforms including digital, print and events. Guggenheim Partners is a privately held, diversified financial services firm. Both Pluribus and Guggenheim have strong track records of successfully managing investments in a variety of companies.

I want to take this opportunity to offer heartfelt thanks to our colleagues who will be leaving the company for their dedication and commitment to Nielsen over the years. Please join me in wishing them well in their future endeavors.

Newspaper Layoffs in November Show Spike From Previous Months

Newspaper layoffs in the United States picked up steam just in time for the holidays as 623 people were dismissed or offered buyouts in November, News Cycle's list shows. This is about a 50 percent increase over the layoffs reported in both October and September. But three major announcements in the month did not add to News Cycle's running total.

The Associated Press reported that it was dismissing 190 people from its staff either through accepting a buyout plan or a layoff. In May, it was estimated that 400 AP staffers would lose their jobs this year. News Cycle subtracted 210 from its grand total figure to compensate.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, offered buyouts to 140 managers on Nov. 6. Block Communications would not say what its target was, nor would it release its deadline. This number is not included in News Cycle's 2009 total.

Finally, The East Valley Tribune in Arizona announced on Nov. 3 that it would cease publication on Dec. 31, putting 140 out of work. But on Nov. 25, Randy Miller's Thirteenth Street Media, which owns the Tucson Explorer, signed a letter of intent to purchase the newspaper and keep a "substantial" number of employees on the job.

Here are November's other confirmed layoffs:

Nov. 13: Colorado Springs Gazette, 11 people.
Nov. 12: New York Times News Service, at least 25 people. Union sources say that up to 28 people may be cut.
Nov. 10: The Arizona Daily Star, 15 people.
Nov. 9: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 100 people.
Nov. 7: The Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, two people. Three other unfilled positions will remain vacant.
Nov. 6: The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., 16 people plus seven unfilled positions cut.
Nov. 5: Huron (Mich.) Daily Tribune, 30 people.
Nov. 4:The Fresno (Calif.) Bee, 51 people in the circulation department. Dismissals will happen in phases and be completed by Jan. 31.
Nov. 4: Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance, 40 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Once Again, Newspaper Layoffs Ease in October

Newspapers in the United States reported that they dismissed 375 people from their jobs in the month of October. It's the third consecutive month that the reported number of newspaper employees losing their jobs has been below 425 people.

The biggest cut came from The New York Times, which reported that it would let go 100 people.

The slowdown in newspaper job losses comes at a time when there are postive signs in advertising revenue. For instance, Times Co. president and chief executive Janet Robinson told Chris Lefkow of Agence France Presse that, "We have seen encouraging signs of improvement in the overall economy and in discussions with our advertisers. Early in the fourth quarter, print advertising trends, in comparison to the third quarter, have improved modestly, while digital advertising trends are improving more significantly."

Here is the list for October:

Oct. 29: The Wall Street Journal, nine people as the Boston bureau is closed.
Oct. 21: The Midwest City (Okla.) Sun ceases publication. The twice weekly will lay off 10 people.
Oct. 20: Los Angeles Times, at least 30 people.
Oct. 19: The New York Times, 100 newsroom employees.
Oct. 19: The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., at least 40 employees, 16 from the newsroom.
Oct. 18: Gannetoid.com now reports 1,514 people laid off from Gannett publications this year. This is 40 more than the Sept. 9 posting.
Oct. 16: La Frontera of McAllen, Texas, ceases publication. The number of employees laid off here was not released by Valley Freedom Newspapers, the chain has said 70 people have been laid off in the past 18 months.
Oct. 13: The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., 50 people.
Oct. 12: The Modesto (Calif.) Bee, seven people.
Oct. 2: The Decatur (Ala.) Daily, 19 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Newspaper Layoffs Ease in September

September was one of the best months of the year for journalists on the job front, as for the second month in a row layoffs started to ease at American newspapers. Only 347 layoffs were reported.

Sept. 24: Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call in Washington, D.C., 44 staffers. Senior editor Brian Nutting was dismissed after questioning the layoffs in a memo.
Sept. 23: The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, 12 people.
Sept. 17: The San Francisco Chronicle, five people.
Sept. 15: News-Journal Corp., based in Daytona Beach, Fla., 39 people from various publications. These layoffs include 14 editorial employees.
Sept. 14: Triple Crown Media Inc. declares bankruptcy. The group owns the Albany Herald, Gwinnett Daily Post, Newton Citizen, Rockdale Citizen, Clayton News Daily, Henry Daily Herald and the Jackson Progress-Argus. All in Georgia. The company, which laid off 5 percent of its workforce early last year, did not reveal any numbers for 2009. It currently employs about 330 people.
Sept. 9: Gannett Co. Inc., 1,474 newspaper people. This is the running total from Gannetoid.com, and is 143 more than the total News Cycle listed on July 2. Gannett told the website the Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan layoff of nine people on Aug. 21 is not included in this count. It does include 79 people from The Westchester (N.Y.) County Journal News on Aug. 28.
Sept. 8: El Dia of Houston ceases publication. Ten people laid off.
Sept. 4: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, 20 people.
Sept. 4: San Francisco Chronicle, four people in advertising department.
Sept. 3: Sun-Times Media Group of Chicago, 70 people in Pioneer Press printing operations.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

August Newspaper Layoffs Total 425 People

Newspapers announced 425 layoffs in August. The the 12th of the month the San Diego Union-Tribune said it would let go 112 people.

Aug. 29: The Catholic Chronicle of Toledo, Ohio, two people.
Aug. 26: Suburban Journals of St. Louis, 24 people in editorial and 28 in advertising.
Aug. 21: Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald-Record, 30 people.
Aug. 21: Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan, nine people.
Aug/ 21: Boca Raton (Fla.) News ceases print edition, and will publish online. Unknown number of employees.
Aug. 20: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 18 people.
Aug. 18: The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., 16 people.
Aug. 16: The Nacodoches (Texas) Daily Sentinel, four people.
Aug. 14: The Lufkin (Texas) Daily News, 11 people.
Aug. 14: Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times in Madison, Wisc., 15 people.
Aug. 12: The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y, 20 people in advertising and 50 in the Information Center.
Aug. 12: The San Diego Union-Tribune, 112 people.
Aug. 6: The Wilson (N.C.) Times, 15 people.
Aug. 5: Miami Herald, 16 people. A total of 34 positions, many unmanned, are eliminated.
Aug. 4: Milwaukee Journal, 92 people. This includes the 37 who took the buyout package on July 28.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Newspapers Laid Off at Least 2,505 People in July; 2009 Total Reaches 13,000

News Cycle counts 2,505 employees being laid off from newspapers in the United States in the month of July. This figure pushes the annual total to about 13,000 newspapers employees having lost their jobs.

It was the second most difficult month this year (only March had a larger number), and was fueled by a large cut by the Gannett chain and an outsourcing of distribution operations by the Orange County Register in California.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

July 31: The New Mexican of Santa Fe, N.M., 12 people.
July 31: The Register Citizen of Torrington, Conn., 27 people.
July 29: Orange County Register, 919 people as the Santa Ana, Calif.,-based newspaper contracts its delivery operations out to the Los Angeles Times.
July 28: Milwaukee Journal, 37 people.
July 27: The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., 10 people.
July 22: The Loudoun Easterner, of Sterling, Va., ceases publication. The number of employees who lost their jobs was not released by its owners, Landmark Communications Inc.
July 21: The Portland (Ore.) Tribune, two people.
July 15: The Contra Costa Times of Walnut Creek, Calif., Oakland Tribune and Tri-Valley Herald of Pleasanton, Calif., 17 people.
July 10: Claremont (N.H.) Eagle Times, 120 people.
July 8: Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, 18 people.
July 8: Bay State Banner in Boston suspends publication, 12 people.
July 2: Gannett Co. Inc., 1,331 people, according to Gannettoid.com.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Only 318 Newspaper Layoffs Reported in June

Only 318 layoffs were reported in the newspaper industry in the month of June, the lowest number in 2009 by far. While this could be a sign of an improving economy, there are expectations that July could be much worse as Gannett is rumored to be ready to lay off as many as 4,500 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

June 30: Waco (Tx.) Tribune-Herald, 43 people.
June 30: St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, 11 people.
June 29: Springfield (Mass.) Republican, 30 people.
June 24: Detroit Free Press, 22 people.
June 22: The State of Columbia, S.C., six people.
June 18: Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, 45 people.
June 10: Bellingham (Wash.) Herald, 30 people.
June 9: Blethen Maine Newspapers, 22 non-union employees and four executives. Five more people were released in a June 15 announcement.
June 8: The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., 21 people (14 additional unfilled positions eliminated).
June 5: The New York Observer, 15 people.
June 3: Stanwood/Camano (Wash.) News, 10 people.
June 3 :The Hollywood (Calif.) Reporter, 10 people.
June 2: The Tampa Tribune, 17 people.
June 2: DuBois (Pa.) Courier-Express, two people.
June 1: The Bulletin in Philadelphia ceases operations, at least 25 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

The Bulletin in Philadelphia Closes a Second Time

For the second time, a Philadelphia newspaper called The Bulletin has stopped its presses.

About 25 staffers were told of the news in its Center City office yesterday by Thomas Rice, the investment banker who reinvented the Bulletin in 2004 after purchasing the naming rights from the family that had owned the paper.

The newspaper was famous for its conservative editorial slant. Never once did it gain a sold financial footing.

Staffers told the Daily News that for months paychecks had been late. Staffers, who declined to be identified, told the Daily News that they hadn't been paid for the last week and a half they've worked.

"I stayed here - we all stayed here - because we love newspapers," one staffer said. "It's kind of bittersweet, because I feel like I'm never going to work at a newspaper again."

The Philadelphia Bulletin was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982. At one time it was the largest daily evening newspaper in the United States. Businessman William L. McLean bought the newspaper in 1895, and it was McLean's ancestors who sold the naming rights to Rice in 2004.

Newspaper Layoffs in 2009 Climb Past 10,000

Updated at 10:24 a.m. Eastern, June 1, with Associated Press layoff of 263 people on May 20.

Newspapers and wire agencies laid off 1,084 people in May, the fewest in a month so far this year. But it was enough to push the annual total above the 10,000 mark.

The San Diego Union-Tribune accounted for 192 people as it reduced it staff by 18 percent three days after Platinum Equity, a Beverly Hills private equity firm, completed its acquisition of the paper from its longtime owner, the Copley Press Inc. In addition, the Associated Press announced that it was buying out 263 employees.

A slightly improving economy could be one reason for the slowdown in layoffs. But ad revenues are still down, and the end of June will mark the closing of the second quarter, which would be a prime time for management to trim staffs even more. During the first four months of the year, an average 2,198 people were let go each month. As of June 1, the total number of people laid off in newspapers stood at 10,014.

These numbers most likely do not reflect the total number of people laid off, as some newspapers have withheld information about their staff cuts, most notably Advance Publications, Gannett and Lee Enterprise.

In April, 1,381 people were laid off from newspapers in the United States. At least 3,943 people lost their jobs in newspapers in March. Here is a list of the newspapers that cut 1,492 people in February. Here are the newspapers that reported 2,114 layoffs in January.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

May 29
Detroit Media Partnership, which oversees the business operations at The Detroit News and The Detroit Free-Press, 90 people. In addition, there will be 39 layoffs at the newspapers.

May 27
Tampa Tribune, 24 people.
USA Today, four advertising sales reps.
Nieman Narrative Digest, one person.

May 22
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 39 people in circulation and classified advertising departments.
Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch, 24 people.
Palm Beach (Fla.) Daily News, 11 people.

May 21
Fort Collins (Colo.) Now ceases publication, three people.

May 20
The Associated Press, 263 people. Note from Erica Smith: Reports said AP gave a deadline to accept buyouts by June 22 and July 13, depending on the employee's department, and that 263 employees were eligible for those buyouts. It is unlikely all 263 would take the buyout offer, But reports dating back to November 2008 said AP would cut 10 percent of its staff, which is listed as 4,000 in its Linkedin profile.
The Hearld-Sun and The Chapel Hill Herald of Durham, N.C., seven people.
Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, three people.
The American News in Aberdeen, S.D., 10 people.

May 19
The Advocate of Baton Rouge, La., 49 people.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 30 editorial employees.
The Honolulu Advertiser, 15 people.
The Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch, five people.
The Huntsville (Ala.) Times, one person.

May 16
Cape Cod Media Group in Hyannis, Mass., 11 people.

May 15
South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 18 classified employees.

May 14
St. Cloud Times, 11 people as it outsources its printing.
The Telegraph and affiliated Cabinet Press of Hudson, N.H., eight people.

May 12
Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan outsources its printing to the Denver Post, 42 people.
News Corp.'s Dow Jones & Co., 32 newsroom employees.

May 11
San Fransico Chronicle, 39 people.
Los Angeles Daily News, one person.

May 7
San Diego Union-Tribune, 192 people.

May 6
Stillwater (Minn.) Courier and its companion, the Lake Elmo Leader, cease publications; seven people.

May 2
Bloomsburg (Pa.) Press Enterprise, four people.
Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press, 15 people.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette of Little Rock, Ark., 16 people.

May 1
The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., 70 people.

Newspaper Layoffs in May Total 1,084 People; 10,014 Newspaper Employees Are Out of Work in 2009

Updated at 10:24 a.m. Eastern, June 1, with Associated Press layoff of 263 people on May 20.

Newspapers and wire agencies laid off 1,084 people in May, the fewest in a month so far this year, pushing the annual total above the 10,000 mark. The San Diego Union-Tribune accounted for 192 people as it reduced it staff by 18 percent three days after Platinum Equity, a Beverly Hills private equity firm, completed its acquisition of the paper from its longtime owner, the Copley Press Inc. In addition, the Associated Press announced that it was buying out 263 employees.

A slightly improving economy could be one reason for the slowdown in layoffs. But ad revenues are still down, and the end of June will mark the closing of the second quarter, which would be a prime time for management to trim staffs even more. During the first four months of the year, an average 2,198 people were let go each month. As of June 1, the total number of people laid off in newspapers stood at 10,014.

These numbers most likely do not reflect the total number of people laid off, as some newspapers have withheld information about their staff cuts, most notably Advance Publications, Gannett and Lee Enterprise.

In April, 1,381 people were laid off from newspapers in the United States. At least 3,943 people lost their jobs in newspapers in March. Here is a list of the newspapers that cut 1,492 people in February. Here are the newspapers that reported 2,256 layoffs in January.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

May 29
Detroit Media Partnership, which oversees the business operations at The Detroit News and The Detroit Free-Press, 90 people. In addition, there will be 39 layoffs at the newspapers.

May 27
Tampa Tribune, 24 people.
USA Today, four advertising sales reps.
Nieman Narrative Digest, one person.

May 22
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 39 people in circulation and classified advertising departments.
Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch, 24 people.
Palm Beach (Fla.) Daily News, 11 people.

May 21
Fort Collins (Colo.) Now ceases publication, three people.

May 20
The Associated Press, 263 people. Note from Erica Smith: Reports said AP gave a deadline to accept buyouts by June 22 and July 13, depending on the employee's department, and that 263 employees were eligible for those buyouts. It is unlikely all 263 would take the buyout offer, But reports dating back to November 2008 said AP would cut 10 percent of its staff, which is listed as 4,000 in its Linkedin profile.
The Hearld-Sun and The Chapel Hill Herald of Durham, N.C., seven people.
Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, three people.
The American News in Aberdeen, S.D., 10 people.

May 19
The Advocate of Baton Rouge, La., 49 people.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 30 editorial employees.
The Honolulu Advertiser, 15 people.
The Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch, five people.
The Huntsville (Ala.) Times, one person.

May 16
Cape Cod Media Group in Hyannis, Mass., 11 people.

May 15
South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 18 classified employees.

May 14
St. Cloud Times, 11 people as it outsources its printing.
The Telegraph and affiliated Cabinet Press of Hudson, N.H., eight people.

May 12
Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan outsources its printing to the Denver Post, 42 people.
News Corp.'s Dow Jones & Co., 32 newsroom employees.

May 11
San Fransico Chronicle, 39 people.
Los Angeles Daily News, one person.

May 7
San Diego Union-Tribune, 192 people.

May 6
Stillwater (Minn.) Courier and its companion, the Lake Elmo Leader, cease publications; seven people.

May 2
Bloomsburg (Pa.) Press Enterprise, four people.
Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press, 15 people.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette of Little Rock, Ark., 16 people.

May 1
The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., 70 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Tucson Citizen to Cease Publication Saturday

Arizona's oldest newspaper, The Tucson Citizen, will roll the presses for the last time tomorrow while continuing with a modified website that will deal with opinions only.

Renee Schafer Horton of the Citizen has the details:

"There will be no news or sports reporting at www.tucsoncitizen.com," said Kate Marymont, vice president of news for Gannett Co., Inc., which owns the Citizen. The Citizen's recently revamped entertainment section, Metromix, will continue on a "provisional basis," Marymont said.

Gannett's joint operating agreement with Lee Enterprises, Inc. also will terminate Saturday, although the two companies will continue as equal partners in Tucson Newspapers, a subsidiary that handles all noneditorial operations for both papers. The JOA has been in effect since 1940.

The two companies will continue to share equally in the operating costs and profits of Tucson Newspapers, also known as TNI Partners, according to CEO Mike Jameson.

It will be announced later how many of the 60 employees will be retained. The Citizen was first published in 1859. It ran its editions Monday through Saturday afternoon, and had an average daily circulation of just under 20,000.

But Mark Fitzgerald of Editor & Publisher is reporting this afternoon that one bidder is going to court to try to acquire the newspaper:

California publisher Stephen L. Hadland, whose bid to buy the Tucson Citizen was rejected, asked the Arizona Attorney General's Office Friday to block Gannett Co. from shutting down the paper as a print publication on Saturday.

"I am requesting the Arizona Attorney General's office file a Temporary Restraining Order preventing The Gannett Corporation from closing the Citizen and require Gannett to continue printing the newspaper pending a sale to a qualified buyer," wrote Hadland, president and CEO of Santa Monica Media Company LLC and publisher of the Culver City (Calif.) Observer.

... "It was just a game," he said. "They never wanted to sell it, they just wanted to close it. They systematically destroyed this newspaper."

Hadland compared the Tucson JOA to the former partnership of Gannett and Liberty Newspapers in Honolulu in 1999. Hawaii's attorney general stepped in to block Liberty from closing the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and to force it instead to look for a buyer. Hadland, an unsuccessful bidder for the Honolulu paper as well, said the sale and independent operation of the Star-Bulletin demonstrates that the Citizen need not shut down.

"This is a perversion of the Newspaper Preservation Act, no different from what they tried to do in Honolulu," he said.

Hadland also lashed out at Gannett for ceasing print publication when, he said, it demanded that bidders for the Citizen pledge to print the paper daily. “Now they’re trying to get around it by saying they’ll have some bloggers on a Web site,” he said. “Last time I looked that was not a daily newspaper.”