"Sky Is Falling" For Media Companies
Rough week in the media business. PR Week has the summary.
“Clearly, the sky is falling,” says New York Times writer David Carr, regarding the bloodiest week for employees of media companies in recent memory. Here's a roundup of this week's bad media news:
- As though following the advice of Netscape founder Marc Andressen, The Christian Science Monitor announces it will cease print publication next April, choosing to focus on its Web site.
- Time Inc. announces a major restructuring, including 600 layoffs.
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Gannett plans to cut 10% of its newspaper workforce, but none at USA Today.
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Doubleday Publishing lays off 16, or 10% of its staff.
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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia cuts its 2008 revenue forecast, and reports a 25% decline in its publishing division's revenue.
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McGraw-Hill trims 270 jobs company-wide.
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The Los Angeles Times arranges to cut 10% of its editorial staff, or 75 jobs.
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Standard & Poor's and Moody's downgrade The Washington Post Co.'s outlook from “stable” to “negative.”
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The Star-Ledger of Newark, NJ, says it will cut its newsroom staff by 40% by the end of the year.
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In one bright spot, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller says he sees no further staff reductions.
And, of course, Portfolio basically shut down its web site today.
See Also: New York Times To Staff: Relax, We're Not Firing You Yet
This isn't the end though. I would cover those shorts in the days to come. An Obama administration will most surely bail out newspapers such as the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He will claim something lame like our democracy is at stake.