Image credit: Shrinking effect added to Tacoma News Tribune logo by Cujo359The Tacoma News Tribune, which is probably the closest thing we have to a local paper where I live, apparently intends to reduce its staff soon:
The News Tribune on Monday offered voluntary buyout deals to 189 of its 350 full-time staffers although the publisher said the newspaper doesn't intend to accept anywhere near that number as it works to bring its expenses in line with reduced advertising income.
"The first order of business is any expense reduction that doesn't involve people," Publisher David Zeeck said in a telephone interview, adding the paper is looking at other, unspecified things in terms of both revenues and expenses.
Tacoma Paper Offers Buyout to 189 of 350 Staffers
The Seattle Times reduced staff recently, so I suppose this isn't a surprise. It's the latest in a wave of such reductions across the country.
What's particularly unsettling about these reductions is that in many cases they involve journalists of one sort or another. Along with the consolidation of news companies in this country, this means that, at least when it comes to traditional news sources, there will be fewer voices and fewer investigative journalists watching both our governments and the other things in our society that need watching.
While I've certainly been critical of the state of journalism in this country, it's a job that most blogs are not yet able to do. Considering that the consolidation that's been happening is mostly into the hands of conservatives, that's particularly bad for the rest of us.
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