“The essence of a reduction in force like this is that good people lose their jobs, through no fault of their own,” Rodrigue wrote. “That is a kind of tragedy, and one that will be deeply felt by everyone at The Plain Dealer.”
These forthcoming layoffs are in addition to the outsourcing of 24 production jobs in the paper’s “Pub Hub.” Rodrigue announced in December that the work of local copy editors, layout designers and illustrators would be relocated to a “centralized production system” — i.e., non-union remote editors working at various sites owned by Advance, the paper’s corporate parent. (Rodrigue noted in his Friday email that this new production system is scheduled to start in May.)
The PD’s personnel decision comes only days after the News Guild suggested a joint subscription drive. In a letter Tuesday, guild members requested that for every 500 new subscriptions purchased, one local journalist’s job be preserved for an additional year.
Rodrigue did not acknowledge the proposed drive in his email, but he did mention subscribers. He said that while they have been “extraordinarily loyal” over the years, there “must be a limit to their generosity; we need to keep our expenses within the means of our readers.”
Also, no doubt, they must keep their expenses down for Advance, a company which has had no qualms about coughing up tremendous dough to maintain two news operations in the same city — the print (union, Plain Dealer); and digital (non-union, cleveland.com) newsrooms — an inefficient arrangement designed, everyone knows, to kill the union.
“This is not the end of the story, but another chapter in it,” wrote Rodrigue.
Well, it may very well be the final chapter for the nation’s first News Guild. That’s why the Plain Dealer is Local 1. Its tiny membership has been decimated by this latest assault.
In a statement, the Guild said that its membership had been reduced by roughly 90 percent in the past 20 years, from 340 to about 30, after the latest cuts.
“Guild journalists have stuck it out through pay cuts, skyrocketing health care costs and a frozen pension because doing this work — this service — for many is a lifelong vocation,” the Guild wrote.
They said that Rodrigue assured them in December that the outsourcing of 24 production jobs was in order to save money so that the newsroom could focus on important local reporting.
“But with today’s decision,” they wrote, “it’s clear to us the cuts are meant to crush a union.” (The Guild also said that they were told 14 newsrooms staffers would be laid off, but that two production jobs would be added to the newsroom, so the net loss is still 36.)
Rodrigue, to conclude, made a point of thanking the journalists for “pouring their souls into a noble calling.”
“I also want to thank our subscribers and our advertisers for supporting us as we have evolved over the past decade. A region like ours deserves a great newspaper, and your loyalty sustains us.”
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This article appears in Mar 13-19, 2019.
good thing the guild went on strike all those times…oh wait
The exact same thing has happened at television stations. You cant grow through cuts.
early casualty on the war on democracy is the shutting down of the free press. We ( the U.S.) are headed for a disaster.
The Pain Feeler and Daily Birdcage Liner is the Incredible Shrinking Newspaper in the Incredible Shrinking City. And yet, I have a choice of two substantial, good-sized, seemingly thriving newspapers in Detroit, a city that makes Cleveland look pretty good by comparison. How is this possible? I have wondered about this for YEARS…decades, even, and I don’t understand it. I believe the largest city without a pro sports team is Norfolk, VA…or maybe it’s Providence, RI…not sure which one is correct. But we are going to be the largest city in America without a daily newspaper, which is something to really be ashamed of. You don’t miss something until it’s gone. And the Pee Dee will soon be history. Makes me cry.
Really, the newsroom was decimated years ago.
What has the plain dealer done in the last 10, no 20, years that served the community? They just printed and advocated the propaganda of Forest City or other puppeteers while the city died.
Printing a councilmans criminal expense reports aint gonna make it better.
Making your product progressively crappier because you aren’t selling enough of it is the most moronic business practice I’ve ever seen. And in this case, it’s not just a product, it’s a vital public resource.
See what happens when you turn your media outlet into a fake news, leftist mouthpiece. Over at the PD today they are currently slobbering over Beta O’s lackluster visit to Cleveland while simultaneously jamming the New Zealand massacre down our throats lubing us up for some suggestions hate speech laws and gun grabs, social justice, and adopting socialism.
It would be nice if we had even one neutral media outlet in town but these companies keep denying reality and stumping for the socialist Democrats. As they prop up bad candidates (like O’Rourke) and destructive policies (green new deal), it’s becoming clear that these media outlets (scene included) are actively trying to destroy our county.