More Cutbacks Coming At Ohio's Largest Newspaper: Report Says Plain Dealer To Downsize By 20%

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- Roldo Bartimole broke the story, which my colleagues at The Plain Dealer pretty much confirmed during phone calls today. I was part of a large buyout in 2006, and received a generous package when I closed the newspaper's Cincinnati bureau after a two-decade run. Many of those who left in 2006 were close to retirement age or had long tenures at the newspaper that had built up their pensions. This time, things could be different. Several of the newsroom people I spoke to said there were no details offered ( no who, what, where, when and how) about the coming cuts, just that they would be significant and were driven by the sour financial fix of the newspaper industry. Papers have been losing print subscribers and advertisers as the MSM shrinks and consumers shift from ink and cellulose to flatscreens and cyberspace. "We have been told it's coming, but not when," said one reporter. Added another: "It's kind of sad here today, like in 2006 before the buyouts that you took. You know people will be leaving and you are wondering about your future. You know something is coming. But what? It's scary and sad at the same time."