{"id":3119,"date":"2020-07-02T20:27:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T20:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/?p=3119"},"modified":"2021-05-20T20:28:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T20:28:04","slug":"more-news-but-fewer-reporters-local-papers-lay-off-or-furlough-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/02\/more-news-but-fewer-reporters-local-papers-lay-off-or-furlough-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"More News, But Fewer Reporters: Local Papers Lay Off Or Furlough Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Audio story by Mike Tripp for WMRA (NPR) radio.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

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\n \n Link to story on WMRA<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n [vc_column_text]Local newspapers have felt the sting of the economic downturn.  Many have been furloughing and even laying off staff, including reporters.   WMRA\u2019s Mike Tripp has the story.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/f8explorer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TRIPP-NEWS-FURLOUGHS-READY.wav<\/a><\/audio>\n

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\"\"

Erin O’Hare worked as a culture reporter for the C-ville Weekly before she was laid off. She’s photographed here in front of a mural at IX Art Park in Charlottesville.<\/span>
(Photo by Mike Tripp)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

For culture reporter Erin O\u2019Hare, it seemed a day like any other at Charlottesville\u2019s C-ville Weekly<\/em><\/a>.  Staff had just finished sending the publication to press just hours before.<\/p>\n

ERIN O\u2019HARE:  A little before 3 o\u2019clock on Tuesday, June 9th, I got a call from our publisher basically telling me I was being let go. And as I was on the phone with her, I started getting a bunch of text messages asking \u2026 \u201cWhat is going over there?  What\u2019s happening? Are you ok?\u201d \u2026 So as I\u2019m getting let go, I\u2019m seeing the news of who else is being let go through text message because it\u2019s already on Twitter.<\/p>\n

How did she take the news?<\/p>\n

O\u2019HARE: I kind of blacked out during that conversation. I don\u2019t remember much of it because I was so shocked and so upset. And then I pretty much just cried the rest of the afternoon. I loved that job.<\/p>\n

With the loss of her position came another reality — the financial fallout.<\/p>\n

O\u2019HARE: They left me in a really bad spot with three days severance.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n

O\u2019HARE:  It was myself, then Laura Longhine and Bill LeSueur \u2026 creative director. They laid off a bunch of folks on the advertising side as well.<\/p>\n

How does this change things?<\/p>\n

O\u2019HARE: Editorial staff had 8 people making a weekly paper and working on special publications and now there are five.<\/p>\n

In a Twitter post dated June 10<\/a>, the C-ville Weekly<\/em> said that it was a tough decision, and it wasn\u2019t the first time the publication had to cut staff during a recession.  Even with a smaller staff, the publication tweeted that \u201cWe remain committed to bringing you the very best local, independent journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with most small, local news outlets, the C-ville Weekly<\/em> is prone to cutbacks during economic downturns mainly because the main source of revenue \u2013 local advertisers \u2013 dries up.<\/p>\n

O\u2019HARE: I knew that our ad revenue was down because of the pandemic. I knew that we were hurting.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Katherine Knott works as an education reporter with the Daily Progress in Charlottesville. She also serves as union chair with the Blue Ridge News Guild.<\/span>
CREDIT KATHERINE KNOTT<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Katherine Knott has a similar story.<\/p>\n

KATHERINE KNOTT: I\u2019m an education reporter at the Daily Progress<\/em><\/a> in Charlottesville.<\/p>\n

Her publication, like many others, was forced to furlough employees.<\/p>\n

KNOTT:  Means you are taking an unpaid week off from work. You can\u2019t check your email. You\u2019re not checking your phone calls. You\u2019re barred from working. I view it as being benched.<\/p>\n

A furloughed employee can file for unemployment.<\/p>\n

Pete DeLea, a reporter for the Daily News Record<\/em><\/a> in Harrisonburg, said he couldn\u2019t speak on record for this story, but he\u2019s been outspoken on social media about the furloughs there.  In a recent tweet<\/a>, he called out the publishers\u2019 unwillingness to \u201cdip into their savings for you, but you should dip into yours for them.\u201d  Knott, of the Daily Progress<\/em>, says the furloughs hurt morale.<\/p>\n

KNOTT: I mean, it\u2019s certainly been demoralizing in a lot of ways because we\u2019d all rather be out covering the many news and news crises happening right now.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Brad Jenkins serves as internship coordinator for JMU’s School of Media Arts and Design, and he’s also general manager of The Breeze, JMU’s weekly student newspaper.<\/span>
CREDIT BRAD JENKINS<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

BRAD JENKINS: I mean on the one hand, I completely understand that news organizations are businesses and have to meet the bottom line.<\/p>\n

Brad Jenkins<\/a> serves as internship coordinator for James Madison University\u2019s School of Media Arts and Design<\/a>, and he\u2019s also general manager of The Breeze<\/em><\/a>, JMU\u2019s weekly student newspaper.  He\u2019s also a former reporter and editor of the Daily News-Record<\/em>.<\/p>\n

JENKINS: I understand that they\u2019re trying to find was to find ways to save on cost, and obviously personnel is going to be one of your biggest costs. It is discouraging in a time when we need the media maybe more than ever as we\u2019re facing a pandemic and racial unrest and economic crisis. We need an independent media to give us the information that we need about those things.<\/p>\n

Gannett<\/a>, which owns the News Leader<\/em><\/a> in Staunton, seems to agree. Maribel Wadsworth, Gannett\u2019s president of news and the publisher of USA Today<\/em><\/a>, stated in a recent memo that beginning July 6, reporters for the company\u2019s papers, including USA Today<\/em>, will be exempted from furloughs. It also said, \u201cWe must bring our reporting firepower back to full strength as we juggle the enormity of three major events \u2014 the pandemic, the fight for social justice and the looming election.”<\/p>\n

But reporters at the News Leader<\/em> have already faced furloughs this year.<\/p>\n

JENKINS: I guess if I were a reporter, yeah, I\u2019d rather be furloughed for a couple weeks than completely laid off and not have a job at all.<\/p>\n

Now enter something new at the Daily Progress<\/em> — a union. \u2026 The Blue Ridge NewsGuild<\/a>.<\/p>\n

KNOTT: We essentially formed in October to have a voice at the table so that we could have some sort of say in the decisions that were gonna happen.<\/p>\n

Katherine Knott says the union also recognizes it\u2019s a difficult time for newspapers. But they also feel journalism has never been more important.<\/p>\n

KNOTT: Our belief is that local news is stronger when companies invest in its workforce.<\/p>\n

Some of them have also joined together to create the Virginia is for Journalists Relief Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n

KNOTT: We launched the relief fund in early April. We\u2019ve raised nearly $25,000 dollars.<\/p>\n

So far, the fund has helped 19 journalists responding to requests for help with rent, grocery bills, cell phone bills, utilities \u2026<\/p>\n

KNOTT: It\u2019s journalists helping journalists. And we have assistance, and we\u2019re more than willing to help more people.<\/p>\n

Despite repeated emails, publisher Peter Yates of the Daily Progress<\/em> did not respond to requests for an interview. And publisher Craig Bartoldson of the Daily News-Record<\/em>, which is owned by Ogden Newspapers based in West Virginia, chose not to speak on the record for this story.<\/p>\n

For WMRA News, I\u2019m Mike Tripp.<\/p>\n

Note: Before becoming a freelance journalist, Mike Tripp himself underwent furloughs as a staff photographer at Gannett\u2019s News Leader in Staunton, where he was finally laid off in January 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Audio story by Mike Tripp for WMRA (NPR) radio. [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Local newspapers have felt the sting of the economic downturn.  Many have been furloughing and even laying off staff, including reporters.   WMRA\u2019s Mike Tripp has the story. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] For culture reporter Erin O\u2019Hare, it seemed a day like any other at Charlottesville\u2019s C-ville Weekly.  Staff had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[99],"class_list":["post-3119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio-stories","tag-wmra"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f8explorer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/NEWS-FURLOUGHS-006-1-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C1182&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3119"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3128,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119\/revisions\/3128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}