! Militant Negro Newspaper, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Firing 200

http://www.newsmax.com/science/newspaper_job_cuts/2008/07/16/113387.html

Atlanta Newspaper Cutting Staff by 200

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is cutting its staff by
nearly 200 jobs, or about 8 percent of its work force, and eliminating
some targeted news sections.

In a news release Wednesday, Publisher John Mellott said the moves are
aimed at cutting expenses amid dwindling advertising revenues and
steadily increasing fuel and newsprint costs. Mellott said the job
cuts will be mainly in the news and advertising departments between
August and October through voluntary buyouts and layoffs.

The newspaper will cut 85 positions from its newsroom, 27 of which are
vacant, said Journal-Constitution spokeswoman Jennifer Morrow.

"The changes announced today, particularly those involving our
employees, are difficult," Mellott wrote in a letter posted on the
newspaper's Web site on Wednesday. "However, they are necessary to
sustain us in the present and position us for future growth."

The company has a staff of 2,300 people, according to a news release.

The newspaper will begin phasing out its four remaining geographically
targeted news sections, including Cobb and Gwinnett counties,
distributed in most suburban counties starting in August. Instead, the
daily metro and sports sections will be expanded to include coverage
from those areas, Mellott said.

Total online and print readership is up 7 percent over last year, but
the cost of newsprint has risen 35 percent in that time, Mellott said.

It's the second downsizing in two years at Georgia's largest
newspaper. In February 2007, the newspaper announced it was offering
contract buyouts and reducing its circulation area. About 40 newsroom
employees took those buyout offers, Morrow said.

Last year, the paper also shuttered targeted news sections in south
metro Atlanta counties. It cut Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and
many parts of Georgia from its circulation territory so that reporters
could focus on metro Atlanta.

The Journal-Constitution is owned by Cox Newspapers, a subsidiary of
the privately held, Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises Inc. Another company
in the Cox chain, Palm Beach Newspapers Inc., which owns The Palm
Beach Post, announced last month it was cutting 300 workers, or 22
percent of its workforce, for similar reasons.


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