The New York Daily News plans to cut about half its editorial staff, a drastic measure that underscores the continued challenges facing the newspaper industry.
Among the employees being laid off is Editor-in-Chief Jim Rich, who will be replaced by Robert York, the top editor at the Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to an unsigned memo sent to staff by Tronc Inc., which owns both newspapers.
Going forward, the Daily News will focus its coverage on “breaking news -- especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility,” the memo said. The Daily News had about 85 newsroom employees last year, according to the New York Post.
Rich, the former editor, slammed the cuts on Twitter Monday.
“If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you,” he said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered to help avoid layoffs at the Daily News, calling it “one of our nation’s journalism giants.”
“I urge Tronc to reconsider this drastic move and stand ready to work with them to avert this disaster,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Tronc Cutbacks
The job cuts marked the latest round of staff reductions at newspapers owned by Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing, which bought out the Daily News less than a year ago. The Chicago Tribune went through another series of layoffs in March.
More than one-third of the largest U.S. newspapers reduced staff between January 2017 and April 2018, according to the Pew Research Center. While a few large newspapers, like the New York Times, have attracted millions of paying readers to support their business, most outlets are struggling to compete for online advertising dollars with Facebook Inc. and Google.
Meanwhile, newsprint costs have soared since last fall after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported paper from Canada, where most publishers get their paper.