Tribune: Cuts Aren't Related to New Pubs

By: Jennifer Saba The Tribune Co. pins upcoming staff reductions on slower than expected revenue growth, not because of new publications such as Hoy and Red Eye, said Gary Weitman, vice president of communications for the Tribune Co. "[Staff cuts] are not occurring because of investment in new initiatives. It's just not the case," he said, referring to an E&P story earlier today that quoted the views of industry analyst John Morton.

Weitman confirmed that reductions will affect about 200 people in the publishing group, or 1%, and that each paper will decide how to implement cost savings, including the Los Angeles Times. Full run advertising lineage for the Times is down 4% year to date (Chicago Tribune is up 2% and Newsday of Melville, N.Y., grew 5%). Weitman said the recovery in Southern California has been slower than other markets due to the grocery strike, a shortened Academy Award season and a dearth of Hollywood blockbusters.

The Tribune Co. revised their growth revenue for the year to 4% as opposed to the original estimate of 6%. The reasons for the slower growth varies by category and by market, Weitman said. For the month of May, the company reported that advertising revenue grew 3.2%.