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Thursday, September 18, 2008

media Stateman layoffs hit newsroom

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 12:50 PM

From BW intern, Mathias Morache:

The Idaho Statesman announced Tuesday that it will lay off 15 employees, including 6 newroom staff. This comes as the second wave of layoffs implemented by The McClatchy Company, the owner of the Statesman, in a plan to cut 1,400 jobs nationwide. This move, according to McClatchy, will save the company $100 million dollars in the next year. Nonetheless, amidst plunging stocks, CEO Gary Pruitt received an annual $800,000 bonus and company executives used the company jet to travel to locations an hour drive away.

Idaho Statesman publisher MiAi Parrish (pictured at right, from a Statesman shot) was not available for comment, but described the situation in the announcement as "a sad day." She went on to say that The Idaho Statesman, "...along with so many other companies in the Valley, [is] feeling the effects of a challenging economic climate. This is a painful but necessary step to position us for a successful future, to continue our vital public service mission as Idaho's largest source of news and information."

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