68 in Inquirer newsroom to lose their jobs

Ending months of speculation, Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C. said yesterday that it would lay off 68 newsroom employees, or 17 percent of the editorial staff, in another round of cost cutting at The Inquirer.

PMH said the cutbacks would save about $6.8 million a year in salaries and benefits and would lead to more restructuring of beats and coverage areas as the slimmed-down news staff regroups to report the region's news.

The Inquirer newsroom will have 325 employees after the cutbacks. As the cuts approached, a handful of reporters and editors left. The Daily News will have 106 newsroom employees.

"It's a very difficult day for The Inquirer and for the individuals, and we're going to try and handle this with professionalism, dignity, thoughtfulness and care," Inquirer editor William K. Marimow said last night. He said the cutbacks were smaller than earlier plans, which called for more than 100 jobs to be eliminated.

PMH, a group of local businesspeople, led by public relations and advertising executive Brian Tierney, bought The Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com and other publications for $562 million in June. The company has since struggled with declining national advertising and slumping circulation.

Tierney said recently that he intended to invest $20 million in marketing, plant modernizations, and a jazzed-up Web site.

Managing editor Anne Gordon said yesterday that the cutbacks would usher in another review of how the paper covers the news.

"The Philadelphia Inquirer is an excellent newspaper, and we intend on keeping it that way," she said. "In order to do that, we will be making changes to beats and coverage plans in the next 30 days."

The Inquirer cutbacks follow contentious union negotiations that concluded in mid-December. The Newspaper Guild - which represents about 900 newsroom, advertising and circulation employees - and the company sparred over pensions and seniority.

Guild President Henry J. Holcomb said yesterday that he was disappointed in the cutbacks. He said the union tried to avoid layoffs by agreeing to work-rule changes and other money-saving concessions in the new contract.

Medical reporter Dawn Fallik was among the first Inquirer reporters to be told she would lose her job. "I can be bitter and angry but, really, there's no point," she said. ". . . I feel depressed for myself and for the people who will be left behind, because this will not be the newspaper we came here to write for."

Fallik joined the newspaper in 2002. She said she believed she was told early about being laid off because she was so low on the seniority list.

Some newsroom workers were exempted from seniority-based layoffs because their positions were deemed crucial to The Inquirer's editorial mission.

Fallik said the exceptions to the seniority list had "created a two-tier system of reporters in the newsroom: those who are worth it and those who are worthless."

Rob Watson, who reviews video games, also was told yesterday that his job was being eliminated. "It's a rough situation," he said. "I grew up in Philly, and the paper was on my coffee table at home."