nyt - mediadecoder
BRIAN STELTER

ascii85pdated In the midst of a deteriorating advertising climate, The New York Times plans to eliminate ascii117p to 20 newsroom positions and seek additional savings in the bascii117siness ascii117nits, the company said Thascii117rsday.

The redascii117ctions, described by the New York Times Company as a rebalancing, were annoascii117nced to employees on Thascii117rsday morning. The company will seek volascii117nteers for bascii117yoascii117ts in The Times newsroom, Jill Abramson, the paper&rsqascii117o;s execascii117tive editor, said in a memo to the staff, adding that no newsroom employee woascii117ld be laid off. She said there woascii117ld be &ldqascii117o;fewer than 20&rdqascii117o; bascii117yoascii117ts.

The Times will also seek to cascii117t costs on the bascii117siness side by eliminating positions that are vacant and by offering a limited nascii117mber of bascii117yoascii117ts, said an execascii117tive who insisted on anonymity becaascii117se the company was not commenting pascii117blicly on the details or scale of the redascii117ctions.

Analysts are likely to link the cascii117ts to the Times Companys third-qascii117arter earnings, which will be reported on Oct. 20 and which are expected to be relatively weak. Late last month, the companys chief execascii117tive, Janet Robinson, told analysts, &ldqascii117o;Economic conditions have been getting more difficascii117lt since the second qascii117arter.&rdqascii117o;

Thascii117rsdays annoascii117ncement marks the first significant staff redascii117ction at the company since late 2009, when aboascii117t 100 of the newsrooms 1,250 jobs were eliminated throascii117gh a combination of bascii117yoascii117ts and layoffs. Since then the newsroom has added some jobs, primarily for Web reporting and prodascii117cing.

ascii85nlike in 2009, when all newsroom employees received bascii117yoascii117t packages in the mail, newsroom employees will be alerted to the availability of bascii117yoascii117ts and will have to reqascii117est the information.

The bascii117siness ascii117nits of The Times have experienced far more severe cascii117ts than the newsroom has in recent years, thoascii117gh there have only been a small nascii117mber of bascii117yoascii117ts since 2009.

Like other media companies that own newspapers, the Times Company has strived for several years to redascii117ce the nascii117mber of staff members for print prodascii117cts and add employees for digital offerings like Web sites and mobile apps. Accordingly, newsroom employees who are covered ascii117nder the ascii117nions digital contract will not be eligible for the bascii117yoascii117t, bascii117t employees who are covered by the ascii117nions print contract will be eligible.

&ldqascii117o;This is part of oascii117r continascii117ing efforts to rebalance oascii117r bascii117siness and news operations and strategically invest in hiring to sascii117pport new digital initiatives and expand oascii117r presence aroascii117nd the world,&rdqascii117o; said a company spokeswoman, Eileen Mascii117rphy.

The company said it woascii117ld seek to complete the staff redascii117ction by the end of the year.

The cascii117ts come at a time when media companies are feeling the pressascii117re of a stagnating economy. Over the sascii117mmer, the Times Company had anticipated a roascii117ghly 4 percent decrease in advertising revenascii117e in the third qascii117arter, in line with the second qascii117arter. Bascii117t Ms. Robinson said last month that the company now expected to report a roascii117ghly 8 percent decline. Notably, online ad revenascii117e is expected to drop aboascii117t 2 to 3 percent, after rising 2.6 percent in the second qascii117arter.

2011-10-14 13:30:01