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Sarasota Newspaper Cutting 33 Employees

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By MICHAEL POLLICK

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: August 5, 2008

SARASOTA - The Herald-Tribune announced cost-saving measures Tuesday that will result in 33 employees losing their jobs as the media company - like most across the nation - continues to struggle in a flagging economy.

While the company last announced a round of layoffs in November, Herald-Tribune Publisher Diane McFarlin noted that the process of adjusting the company's size to fit the new economic realities has been continual for the past two years.

The Herald-Tribune Media Group now employs a third fewer people than it did two years ago.

"Our work force was exceptionally large for a paper this size," McFarlin said. "The reason for that was that this market was thriving and over the years, we had been able to expand to a degree that most papers of our size were not able to do. As the economic activity slowed down, it could no longer support that exceptionally large staff."

The Herald-Tribune is still operating at a profit, McFarlin noted.

"That is more than an alarming number of newspapers can say," she said.

The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., is reported to be losing as much as $40 million a year and The San Francisco Chronicle more than $50 million a year.

At least three of Florida's largest newspapers are thought to be losing money.

"As I have observed before, the fact that we acted early on to begin reducing our expenses has served to protect our profitability," McFarlin said. "I believe we can remain profitable, but it will continue to require some tough choices."

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