Globe newsroom to shrink

By adamg on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 1:57pm

The Globe itself reports as many as 50 positions could be eliminated, through buyouts and, if those don't work, layoffs.

Dan Kennedy writes:

... This is shockingly ugly stuff. I can't imagine how the Globe can move forward without a dramatically redefined mission. Just focusing on local news isn't going to do it, because that's fundamentally about throwing bodies at stories. ...

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Media

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Boston Globe

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Comments

How soon before I cancel my subscription?

By Ron Newman on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 2:09pm.

Pretty soon they're going to get to the point where I cancel my home delivery subscription. A drastic step, considering that I've had a daily newspaper home delivered (or lived with people who did) for over 51 years.

(my comment repeated from Dan Kennedy's blog)

Im telling you the Globe is

By ShadyMilkMan on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 2:10pm.

Im telling you the Globe is dead, take a moment to mourn and move on to another source...

Who needs the Globe...

By Steve M on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 2:54pm.

...As long as you have Adam G and the bloggers of Universal Hub!

Thanks, but that's a dangerous thing to say

By adamg on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 3:24pm.

Look how many Globe/Herald/Channel 4 stories I link to.

Not a Surprise, But Alarming

By neilv on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 3:23pm.

First of all, condolences to people going through a rough time at the Globe.

Second, I think Boston *needs* the Globe operating at its best. This is more important than even the circus of the Red Sox(!). Bloggers and citizen journalism are not ready to take up the journalistic slack. The Herald has some good people, but the paper presents itself as a complement to the Globe.

Third, "dramatically redefined mission" is a good thing, if it means preserving the journalism value while adapting to the new media.

Fourth, why won't the the Globe let me send them money without depositing inky paper logs on my porch or offending me with the technologically wrong-headed "electronic edition" Flash format? I'm trying not to be a freeloader here.

I just had a thought, may be

By ShadyMilkMan on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 3:30pm.

I just had a thought, may be crazy, that people could combine and buy "shares" in a newspaper like the Globe and allow it to continue operating as a newspaper. The shares wouldnt be like normal shares where you get profits back, rather it would be like a coop where you would be allowed to extra access to Globe information and Globe archives. Kind of like a subscription that comes with part ownership. If something like this could work somehwere it would be here in Boston I would imagine.

Another model that could work

By Ron Newman on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 3:33pm.

The NYTimes Company could sell it to a locally run non-profit trust. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida operates this way, and it's one of the nation's best regional newspapers.

Co-op has some appeal

By neilv on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 3:40pm.

Would the co-op buy the Globe from NYTCo? Would it rely on a billionaire philanthropist to get started?

One would also have to figure out in what way membership has its privileges. As soon as I see members-only content and want to link to it on the Web, but only members can access it, that lessens the societal impact of the content as well as its value to me as an individual.