USA: Washington Times lays off dozens of employees
The crisis in the U.S. newspaper industry is forcing the conservative *Washington Times* to make drastic cuts. The sports and local sections are being discontinued, and dozens of reporters, editors, and photographers are being laid off.
The exact number of redundancies is still unclear, as the newspaper reported on Thursday. Around 170 people are employed in the editorial offices of the sports and local sections. At the beginning of December, the management had already informed the staff that around 40 percent of employees would have to leave. According to its own information, the conservative paper has been making losses since it was founded 27 years ago. Recently, the problems have become increasingly urgent: just last year, the Saturday edition was discontinued.
The US newspaper crisis is worsening: US newspaper circulation fell by 10.6 percent between April and September 2009 compared to the same period last year. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is one of the few newspapers that managed to grow. Other major newspapers suffered severe setbacks: The New York Times lost 7.3 percent through September 2009 compared to the previous year. The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post also lost readers.
The US newspaper crisis is worsening: US newspaper circulation fell by 10.6 percent between April and September 2009 compared to the same period last year. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is one of the few newspapers that managed to grow. Other major newspapers suffered severe setbacks: The New York Times lost 7.3 percent through September 2009 compared to the previous year. The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post also lost readers.
