Denver Post Lays Off One-Third Of Newsroom Staff

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

According to multiple sources, the Denver Post, owned by Digital First Media (the same people who own the Longmont Times-Call, The Boulder Daily Camera, and almost a hundred other local community newspapers) announced 'layoffs' of thirty employees.

The Denver Post editor, Lee Ann Colacioppo announced the layoffs Wednesday afternoon.  It's one of the largest downsizing exercises at the Denver Post in recent memory leaving the Post with less than 25 percent of the newsroom staff employed during its peak.

Jon Murray, Denver Post Hall reporter posted about the massive cuts on Twitter.

"In a staff meeting, the @DenverPost editor just told us that we are cutting 30 positions in the newsroom, there are some sobs in the room".

Adding...

"For reference, this is approx 30 percent of newsroom employees. On top of deep cuts in 2015 and 2016 and some layoffs last year. Looks like they will be seeing volunteers for severance packages initially. After that?"

The Post enacted a similar approach in 2016. When only 20 employees took buyouts, involuntary layoffs were then instituted.

Another round of layoffs occurred in 2017 and just 2 months ago in January of 2018, the Post put a paywall in place for the first time since April of 2015.

Chuck Plunkett, the editorial page editor, said the recent paywall had improved the morale of employees during their move from the historic Denver Post headquarters to their current, comparatively, low rent Adams County location where the company also keeps the printing plant.

The newsroom staff had hoped that the paywall revenue would stave off future newsroom cuts (according to comments Colacioppo made to the Columbia Journalism Review), although it was also noted at the time that "there is nothing in writing from corporate saying revenue generated by the new paywall will stave off future newsrooms cuts".

According to the WestWord writer, Michael Roberts, "the Post is hardly the only newspaper that's going through hard times in today's digital age. But its struggles are amplified by current deed holder Alden Global Capital, which seemingly wants to squeeze the publication until there's little or nothing left."

The question posed by writer Alan Prendergast's 2016 feature article "Can the Denver Post Survive Its Hedge-Fund Owner? seems even gloomier today than it did two years ago."

Digital First Media is owned by Alden Global Captial which is controlled by Randall Smith.  For a profile of Mr. Smith and an overview of how he operates and what he does with profits from newspapers like the Denver Post and the Times-Call, read this article in The Nation titled "How Many Beach Mansions Does A Wall Street Tycoon Need?"

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