The Press-Enterprise to shed 150 jobs over next 8 weeks
The hard-hit, revenue-losing Southern California newspaper industry has a new victim: The Press-Enterprise newspaper.
A.H. Belo Inc., the Riverside publication's parent, announced on Friday that 120 employees are leaving on voluntary buy-outs, and 30 other workers will get booted between now and the end of October.
Nationwide the industry is experiencing one of its worse downturns in history. Newspapers have laid off thousands of reporters, editors, designers, production specialists, advertising sales representatives and other employees over the last few years because advertising revenue keeps falling.
Dallas-based Belo Corp. (NYSE: BLC) -- the head corporation of The Press-Enterprise, numerous TV stations, radio stations and a variety of publications -- saw its non-political advertising revenue drop $22.5 million, or 6.5 percent, from January to June of this year compared to 2007.
The Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, both sister newspapers owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group Inc., have also cut dozens of jobs over the last year, and Los Angeles Times slashed more than 150 last month.
Despite the Times' cuts, other large newspapers are fairing better. From 2000 to 2007, advertising revenue at USA Today, The New York Times and Washington Post pretty much held its own, according to the August issue of Conde Nast Portfolio magazine.
But The Wall Street Journal's ad revenue dropped about $500 million over the same period -- a 30-percent drop.
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