Two other bureaus closing, as newspaper prepares for sale
posted Jun 23, 2008 - 4:58:24pm
The Daytona Beach News-Journal announced today it is closing its DeLand bureau and laying off 99 employees.
Reporters, editors and photographers based in DeLand packed up their desks today at the 111 S. Alabama Ave. location. About 4 p.m., a large truck pulled in the parking lot, ready to move equipment and furniture out of the building.
The atmosphere inside the office was quiet as employees boxed CDs full of photos, stacks of notebooks and manila folders, along with personal effects.
Some of the boxes will be moved to the News-Journal's main office in Daytona Beach. Some of them will go home with people who lost their jobs today.
"This is not a surprise," one employee said. "It's been hard for about a year."
News-Journal employees have braced for layoffs, as their company struggled to meet the demands of a settlement with Cox Newspapers, which sued over the corporation's handling of funds.
The settlement calls for the newspaper to be sold and, according to a statement issued by the News-Journal, the layoffs and closings are part of positioning the paper for that sale.
Cox owns 47.5 percent of the News-Journal, one of the last family-owned large daily newspapers in the United States.
DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar said the closure of the DeLand bureau was shocking, but not unexpected, in light of the economy, the litigation with Cox, and changes in the newspaper industry.
"The City of DeLand, for a long time, has been served by three newspapers. It's been kind of an unusual situation," Apgar said. "For a small community to have had such an amount of coverage, of local news and sports and local activities ... I'm sure it has been good for the community. ... The News-Journal has been a good community partner for the city."
Apgar added, "It's never a happy day when people are losing jobs."
Ritter's Towne Pharmacy in Downtown DeLand will accept News-Journal subscription payments, but how the News-Journal will handle news coverage and advertising sales on the west side of the county was not immediately clear.
A spokeswoman in News-Journal publisher Georgia Kaney's office said Kaney had no comment about today's events, beyond this statement published on the News-Journal's Web site:
NOTICE TO READERS
The News-Journal Corporation is being prepared for sale. These preparations are occurring during a major downturn in the nation’s newspaper business, a downturn felt in our local market.
As part of the sale process, Cox Enterprises and News-Journal Corporation hired a sales broker and a consultant. They recommended major changes to make the company more attractive to potential buyers and to strengthen the economic position of the company during the economic downturn.
The News-Journal today announced it was laying off 99 employees as part of a plan to reduce costs and prepare the company to be sold.
In addition, the Sunday News-Journal Ideas section will be discontinued, with editorial pages moving to the front section of the paper.
Bureau offices in Palm Coast, New Smyrna Beach and DeLand will be closed.
"We regret that we are required to make these changes," said News-Journal publisher Georgia Kaney. "They in no way diminish our dedication to quality journalism or our commitments to our readers, advertisers and the communities we serve."
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