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Hearst Ponders Shuttering ‘SF Chronicle’

Hearst is in negotiations with union members, and is saying that, if they do not agree to significant job cuts among union and non-union employees, it may have to sell or shut down the San Francisco Chronicle.

Hearst says it lost $50 million on the paper last year, according to MediaPost.

“Survival is the outcome we all want to achieve,” Hearst officials said (via the Guardian). “But without specific changes we are seeking across the entire Chronicle organization, we will have no choice but to quickly seek a buyer for The Chronicle, and, should a buyer not be found, to shut down the newspaper.”

The company has also found it necessary to close a number of magazines in recent months, including Teen Magazine, CosmoGirl and O at Home.

Other newspapers teetering on the brink of closure are the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News, both of which are desperately seeking buyers. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Journal Register Co. both filed for bankruptcy in the last week.