Search »

Philly ‘Experiment’ Not So Successful; ‘Inquirer’ Layoffs Certain

Just seven months after a group of local businessmen led by Brian P. Tierney bought the Philadelphia Inquirer from McClatchy, the paper is expected to lay off about 17 percent of its newsroom staff (about 70 employees).

Tierney’s group also purchased The Daily News from McClatchy, but that paper will be exempt from cuts, for now, writes The New York Times. Editors called employees at home to begin the announcements.

The Newspaper Guild recently concluded contract negotiations that nearly led to a strike. While the negotiations ended in what union members called “a disappointing, giveback deal,” the current round of layoffs is affecting significantly fewer employees that had been discussed earlier, when editors and reporters were told that up to 150 people could be laid off.

When Tierney and his group of investors bought the papers, he called his entry into the business a turning point for the Philadelphia papers and the industry in general. He hoped - as did many in the industry - that private ownership, freed from the restrictions of having to answer to Wall Street, would solve some of the problems the newspaper industry faces.
But the Inquirer’s circulation continued to decline, and advertising revenue plummeted 10 percent from Sept. 2005 to the same month in 2006. The newsroom, which was hopeful when Tierney took over, became resigned after the contract settlement, according to the Times.