'Portland Press Herald' Cuts Staff, Sections

By: Joe Strupp The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, part of the Blethen Maine Newspapers that are up for sale, have laid off an undisclosed number of employees and will cut several sections, the paper reported Thursday.

"Out of about 400 employees, two union employees lost their jobs, as did an undisclosed number of managers," the paper disclosed in a story. "The number of layoffs was far less than initially expected because of employees who volunteered to take time off without pay."

Charles Cochrane, president of Blethen Maine Newspapers, which also publishes two other nearby dailies, added: "We were able to save a number of positions."

"Several of the changes affect the Sunday paper," Thursday's story stated. "Starting this weekend, the Telegram's Maine/New England section will be part of the front, 'A-section' and the TV listings will be reduced. The Outdoors section has been moved from Sunday to Thursday's Sports section, effective today.

"The paper is also eliminating its weekly Your Neighbors section in York County, reducing the opinion content and folding Friday's Local & State section into the A-section, just as it does on Saturdays and Mondays," the paper added.

"We regret having to make any changes, but we think these by and large will have minimal reader impact," Cochrane said in the story. "But when revenues are decreasing, we have to find ways to respond to that. We've tried to be as thoughtful and careful as possible."

The moves come as the papers are seeking to be sold by the Blethen Family -- which also owns The Seattle Times Company -- and just days after Cochrane denied rumors that they would close if a buyer was not found.

The company announced in March it was seeking to sell the three daily papers. Recently it disclosed that negotiations had begun with a group that includes William S. Cohen, former U.S. senator and secretary of defense; his son, Kevin Cohen; businessman Robert Baldacci, brother of Maine Gov. John Baldacci; developer Michael Liberty; and Richard L. Connor, a Bangor native and newspaper publisher in Pennsylvania.

Last month, the papers announced the need for another round of layoffs to balance a projected $1.2 million shortfall in advertising revenue for the second half of the year, the paper reported, adding "It is the fourth round of layoffs in the past 12 months and the third round this year. In the last round, which took effect July 1, the company cut 36 jobs."

"Management and union representatives agreed that the voluntary time-off program was a key factor to reducing layoffs," the paper reported. "Employees gave up more than 400 shifts, said Tom Bell, president of the newspaper's largest union, the Portland Newspaper Guild, which represents about 300 employees in Portland."

"Going into this, there were 20 Guild positions (that could be cut). Now there are two," Bell said in the story.