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AJC Slims Workforce by 8%

Published on July 16, 2008 | Email this article

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the latest paper to announce major cuts amid the current advertising slump. The paper will cut its workforce by 8 percent, or about 189 jobs.

It will also do away with all of its geographically targeted news sections, including the daily Gwinnett News section and the NorthSide, CityLife and NorthWest weekly inserts. The paper will maintain its news bureaus in Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb and North Fulton, with other sections of the paper expanding to include coverage from those areas. The standalone Better Health and Buyer’s Edge sections will also be jettisoned, with content rolled into expanded Living sections on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Publisher John Mellott says the 35 percent jump in newsprint costs over the past year have led to the cost-cutting measures.

Readership for the paper overall - print and online editions - is up 7 percent since last year, to 2.2 million readers per week. The mobile site surpassed a million page views in the month of June, making it the largest mobile site in the Southeast, according to Mellott.

The newspaper will be more “colorful and attractive” in coming months, beginning with a redesigned Sunday edition set to launch in early 2009, Mellott says.

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