Layoffs and Buyouts Announced at Three More Dailies

By: Joe Strupp Layoffs and buyouts have hit three more daily papers, with announcements of cutbacks in Colorado, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

Word that staff reductions will hit the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader; The Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo.; and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, S.C., added to the already growing list of dailies facing the prospect of fewer people.

The Daily Camera announced Tuesday that nine of its 155 staffers were to be laid off, the paper reported, citing an industry that company officials say is "rapidly changing."

The cuts were made across various departments and included one newsroom employee, Al Manzi, president of Prairie Mountain Publishing, publisher of the Daily Camera, told the paper.

Severance packages were offered to all nine employees, he said, adding, "It was an incredibly difficult decision to separate from nine terrific, hardworking, and caring employees."

Prairie Mountain Publishing is co-owned by E.W. Scripps Co., publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, and Denver-based MediaNews Group, publisher of The Denver Post.

At the Lexington Herald-Leader, a four-percent staff reduction is being sought through a buyout program announced this week, according to Business Lexington, which said the paper had 385 full-time employees.

Business Lexington reported that "a statement released by the Herald-Leader said there is no set number of employees it hopes will take the buyout, nor has the paper released information publicly or to its staff as to what the eligibility requirements are."

"Our business models are changing," read a statement e-mailed by Herald-Leader Publisher Tim Kelly to the business news outlet. "We plan to continue our focus on both our print newspaper as well as Kentucky.com. At the same time, we plan to pay attention to our current and future niche products."

"In order to support this effort, we must look for ways to operate more efficiently. This leads to a realignment of resources and changes in many of our business practices," the statement added.

The paper also is leaving the option open for layoffs if fewer than 4% take the voluntary buyout, Business Lexington stated.

The buyout announcement follows a March decision to shut down the paper's internal ad design and outsource the jobs to an Illinois company with locations in India and the Philippines.

Finally, The Sun News, "faced with pressure from the slumping economy," the paper reported, laid off six workers and offered voluntary buyouts to others Tuesday.

In announcing the changes to employees, Publisher Pamela J. Browning also said that one of the company's satellite offices "will be closed, enabling the company to streamline the magazine, marketing and advertising divisions," the paper reported. "The laid off workers are in the marketing and advertising divisions."

The Sun News added that voluntary buyouts are being offered to a limited number of workers. Browning told the paper that there is not a target number of buyouts, and they will not become involuntary.

Browning, in a memo to The Sun News' 255 employees, stated: "Both of these programs are in response to the need to operate our newspaper more competitively and efficiently, and to respond to changing business models."