New York Daily News abruptly cuts half of its staff

Tronc, the parent company of the New York Daily News, is slashing the tabloid’s newsroom in half.

In an unsigned email to staff, the company wrote the reductions “reflect the realities of our business and the need to adapt to an ever-changing media environment.” It added that the newspaper would refocus much of its remaining talent on breaking news, “especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility.”

The paper intends to “lead Tronc’s transformation and become the newsroom of the future,” continued the email, obtained by CBS News. 

The company also announced the departures of Jim Rich, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, and Kristen Lee, its managing editor. Robert York, the former publisher and editor of Pennsylvania’s Morning Call newspaper, will take the helm as editor on July 30.

The job cuts brought an unusual display of unity from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, both of whom spoke out against the cuts.

“Tronc’s greedy decision to gut the newsroom is bad for government and a disaster for NYC,” the mayor tweeted. “Tronc should sell the paper to someone committed to local journalism and keeping reporters on the beat.”

Cuomo also objected to the cuts at what he termed “an important New York institution and one of our nation’s journalism giants.” The governor in a statement urged Tronc to reconsider, saying the company made its move “without notifying the state or asking for assistance,” while noting that his father, when governor, “came to the aid of the New York Post when it was facing difficult financial times.”

Tronc in September bought the paper that bills itself as “New York’s Hometown Newspaper” in 2017 for one dollar, along with the assumption of pension and other liabilities.

Employees of the paper reportedly were steeling themselves for weeks as rumors swirled that Tronc was preparing to make large cuts at the Daily News. The company has a track record of trimming editorial staff at the papers it owns, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

Pew Research Center

The layoffs are part of a trend affecting more than a third of the country’s largest newspapers, according to a recent analysis from Pew Research Center. Among newspapers, those with the highest circulation were most likely to be impacted, the study found.

“The analysis comes amid a series of highly publicized staff reductions by hedge fund companies that had acquired well-known newspapers, including the Denver Post, where employees publicly criticized the cuts made by the papers’ owners,” the authors of the Pew analysis noted.