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The New York Observer is reporting that The New York Times sent a memo out this week from the paper’s assistant managing editor, Bill Schmidt, which states that layoffs should be expected as the voluntary buyout target has not been reached.  This will be the first time the paper will be forced to cut the newsroom through layoffs.

An excerpt from the memo:

The window for those voluntary buyouts closes officially next week — on Monday, April 21, for excluded members of the staff, and on that day and the next (Tuesday, April 22), for Guild applicants.

While we will not know the hard count until that time, every effort to handicap the outcome suggests that we are almost certain to fall short of the number of volunteers we will need. If that is indeed the case, as we expect it will be, we will — regrettably — be forced resort to some limited number of layoffs within the core newsroom.

I first saw the report on:

Fading to Black: A look at the downward spiral of the newspaper industry in the 21st century.  Because no news is bad news.

Image by jdlasica via Flickr

Newsroom Staffing

Over the past ten years, the traditional newsroom has become more adept at leveraging technologies more commonly associated with new media while new media is skillfully producing content that adheres to journalistic standards as evidenced by Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo winning the George Polk Awards for 2007 for legal reporting.

Ample conversations have been had on convergence, collaboration and integration of the newsroom, but regardless of the staff’s physical proximity, the organization should introduce a 24/7 news-desk where all news decision for all platforms are made. The news-desk should have equal representation from each platform and engage in new conversations over the handling of news:

• What is the optimal platform for the story distribution?
• How should the story be told across the varied platforms?
  • Is simple redundancy in publishing across the different channels adequate?
  • Should complimentary content be developed to further the story and take advantages of the unique strength of alternate channels?

Of the utmost importance is creating a competent news-desk that has the knowledge in how to compel and entice its audience to return frequently throughout the day through its varied distribution channels. Each return visit should yield consistent branding, voice and design to maintain a sense of familiarity, but more importantly provide completely new content assuring the reader as to the “freshness” and authority by which the organization headless news.

Wednesday: The Challenges

The Organization Mindset

Because of this prevailing state, MSM, regardless of their traditional core-competencies, must transform from television and radio stations, newspapers and magazines to a true media company. Only through fully leveraging the talents, skills and expertise of its staff can it not only withstand the economic pressures currently endured, but ultimately reaffirm itself as the definitive source for in-depth, enterprising, local news, opinion and information. This organization must recognize that the core service provided is not in its distribution channel, but rather in its news production.

Change needs to be embraced and initiated by top-level executives and communicated company-wide through education, enthusiasm and assurances. “Evangelists” must constantly communicate that this is not simply semantics but rather a core philosophy at the heart of the organization and that alternative distribution channels have unique benefits not only for the brand but for the employee as well:

• Television, Radio - Passive audience and core revenue stream
• Print - Detail oriented audience and core revenue stream
• Web - Engaged, community oriented audience with positive trending revenue growth
• Mobile - Service oriented audience with positive trending revenue growth

Monday: The tail wagging the dog

NY Times Bits blogger Saul Hansen takes a look at Michael Arrington of TechCrunch and Rafat Ali of Paid Content and their unique approaches to blogging. This debate is more than simply an argument over emotional versus analytical blogging or their specific journalistic style, it sets the framework for how the two see the future.

“The only way to compete with CNet in the long run is to group these writers together. They should be better writers than CNet has because they are all competitive entrepreneurs with a lot of equity at stake.”
- Mike Arrington

Ali offers a slightly different take…

“The big market for us is the trade media. Companies like Reed Elsevier, Nielsen, Incisive and Informa play in this market, not these blogs. If CNet is the only target you can aspire to be, that is selling yourself really short.”

Read the full blog post here.