[June 13, 2012]

National Association of Black Journalists Condemns Layoffs at Newhouse Gulf Coast Newspapers

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is deeply disappointed by the massive layoffs at the Newhouse Gulf Coast Newspapers, a division of Advance Publications.

Yesterday the Times-Picayune announced 200 employees will lose their jobs as one of the nation's oldest daily newspapers shifts its focus to online news and publishes just three days a week beginning this fall.

According to reports, 84 of the newsroom's 173 employees were cut at the 175-year-old paper. Advertising, circulation and other departments were impacted as well. New Orleans will become the largest metro area in the nation without a daily newspaper in the digital age.

In Alabama, three major daily newspapers laid off approximately 400 employees, many of them in the newsrooms at The Birmingham News, the Press-Register in Mobile and The Huntsville Times.

NABJ has been monitoring developments since these newspapers announced last month that they would end daily publication as part of their resructuring in the down economy. Sadly, NABJ correctly anticipated that this decision would likely impact its members and other journalists of color.

NABJ has learned that several of its members and other black journalists are among those who will lose their jobs at these newspapers. Among those who will be impacted is NABJ Birmingham chapter founding member Eddie Lard -- the newspaper's lone African-American editorial voice -- former chapter president Sherrel Stewart and current officer Roy Williams.

"It is truly a sad moment in the industry as my hometown newspaper, the Times-Picayune and the other Newhouse Gulf Coast newspapers have been hit hard," said NABJ President Gregory Lee Jr., who worked in the sports department at the Times-Picayune from 1993-99. "The lack of diversity that will be suffered in these newsrooms is unacceptable, and will result in more losses for these companies as consumers will go elsewhere to find news that is truly representative of their community. This digital strategy will have severe impact on access for poor and minority readers in the communities they serve."

This news is announced as NABJ enters its 37^th Annual Convention and Career Fair, held in New Orleans, June 20-24. As part of the organization's initiative, NABJ C.A.R.E.S. (Career, Assistance, Recovery and Employment Search), NABJ is offering registrations to journalists affected by the cuts at these newspapers to attend the Convention & Career Fair.

Interested journalists should contact NABJ Membership Manager Veronique Dodson, at [email protected], for additional information and eligibility requirements.

The National Association of Black Journalists in an advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C. It is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation and provides career development as well as educational and other support to its members worldwide.

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