Media Jobs in Connecticut Cut with Hearst

Posted on April 30, 2009

Amidst a trend that has been far too frequent as of late, some Connecticut media jobs have been cut.

Hearst Corporation recently announced that it has cut 44 jobs at its Connecticut newspapers and plans to eliminate another 80 positions in the next three months. The cuts are all part of a consolidation and cost-cutting effort, according to an article by The Advocate.

Of the jobs to be cut, about 25 percent will fall in the newsroom, with the rest of the cuts distributed throughout the rest of the company’s operations. However, fewer than 10 percent of the cuts will affect reporters.

Hearst owns four daily newspapers in Connecticut, including the Connecticut Post, The Advocate of Stamford, Greenwich Time and The News-Times of Danbury, as well as six weeklies of the Brooks Community Newspaper group. The company plans to continue to publish all four dailies and all seven weeklies. There is no plan to close offices or reduce publication schedules or home delivery.

Mark E. Aldam, senior vice president and group publisher of Hearst Newspapers, said the company, which is privately held, needs to cut 20 percent of its costs.

“Beginning today, we will take the first step toward structurally changing the cost base of our business to ensure its long-term viability,” Aldam said in the article.

Hearst is by far the only newspaper company to be making cuts lately. The New York Times Company, Gannett and The McClatchy Company, which are all publicly traded newspaper groups, have reported double-digit revenue losses for the first quarter of this year. However, Gannett still showed a $77 million net profit.