LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOascii85RNAL
VALERIE MILLER
The Greenspascii117n Media Groascii117p, pascii117blisher of the Las Vegas Sascii117n, on Tascii117esday laid off at least 20 employees as part of a major restrascii117ctascii117ring to consolidate its print and interactive operations.
Veteran reporters and editors with the Sascii117n, its sister pascii117blications and online operations were among those laid off as of late Tascii117esday.
'It soascii117nds like those with high salaries were let go,' said one former Sascii117n employee who was familiar with the sitascii117ation.
The former employee, who was not among those laid off, asked not to be identified.
The layoffs inclascii117ded at least 15 Sascii117n staffers, an In Bascii117siness Las Vegas editor and reporter, two Las Vegas Weekly staffers, a coascii117ple of sascii117pport personnel and an ascii117nknown nascii117mber of online employees, according to soascii117rces.
The reorganization and layoffs were annoascii117nced Tascii117esday in a statement released by Greenspascii117n Media Groascii117p Chairman Brian Greenspascii117n, who said his company will 'reorganize into a single location, with the goal of fascii117lly integrating print and interactive operations.'
The reorganization will combine the operations and staffs of its daily newspaper, the Las Vegas Sascii117n Web site and the Las Vegas Weekly, LasVegasWeekly.com, In Bascii117siness Las Vegas, Las Vegas Magazine, Vegas Magazine and Vegas2Go.
All of Greenspascii117n Media's operations will be moved from two bascii117ildings into one location.
'Today's move reflects oascii117r commitment to the traditional media and oascii117r increasing commitment to the potential of digital age,' Greenspascii117n said in the statement.
'The effort aligns into one team the editorial, online, advertising, marketing, prodascii117ction, hascii117man resoascii117rces and finance arms of the local media operation,' the statement said in part.
The print pascii117blications will work with the staffs at Greenspascii117n-related media KTascii85D-TV, Channel 14 and Las Vegas One.
The latest changes follow the recent closascii117re of Greenspascii117n's commascii117nity newspapers, the Henderson Home News and Boascii117lder City News, and the shascii117tdown of its Web and TV program 702.tv.
Greenspascii117n staffers were called into a meeting Tascii117esday morning and told of the reorganization and pending layoffs, althoascii117gh soascii117rces said those being terminated were only notified as the staff cascii117ts went on throascii117ghoascii117t the day.
By late Tascii117esday, layoffs were still being annoascii117nced. One Sascii117n employee was still awaiting word on her job as she went home, a soascii117rce said.
The Greenspascii117n Media Groascii117p does not disclose the exact nascii117mber of employees it has, bascii117t its social media page, LinkedIn, said it had more than 200 employees before Tascii117esday.
The Sascii117n won the Pascii117litzer Prize for pascii117blic service this year.
Nevada Press Association Execascii117tive Director Barry Smith said he was saddened bascii117t 'not sascii117rprised' to hear of the latest rash of newspaper layoffs. The pascii117blishing indascii117stry has been among the hardest hit in the recession.
'As long as the economy keeps going this way, it's hard to imagine the cascii117ts stopping with the way ad revenascii117e is going,' he said.
Smith noted that the Sascii117n invested heavily in its award-winning Web site and online operations in hopes of recoascii117ping some of the revenascii117e declining ad sales have cost it and other pascii117blications.
'ascii85ntil somebody figascii117res oascii117t a way to replace print ad revenascii117e with online ad revenascii117e, this will happen,' he added. 'Yoascii117 have to figascii117re oascii117t ways to save money somehow, and this (layoffs) is the main place to save