WDET News
- Booth Newspapers Downsizing In Michigan
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Nov 13, 2008Automotive & Business
The Booth newspaper chain says it will significantly downsize in Michigan. WDET’s Sarah Cwiek has more…
SOQ
Booth publishes eight daily newspapers in the state…as well as the monthly Michigan Business Review. The publisher is offering buyouts for employees that have been with the company for as little as five years. Citing a struggling the economy…the chain says it will consolidate to a single copy desk in Grand Rapids…and a central advertising department in Kalamazoo. Booth publishes both the Grand Rapids Press and the Kalamazoo Gazette. David Poulson was a Booth employee for twelve years…and is now the Associate Director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State Unviersity. He calls Booth newspapers the “information backbone of outstate Michigan”…and says the downsizing will leave significant gaps in the state’s media landscape:
“It means there’ll be fewer reporters on the ground. There’ll be fewer reporters who can hold public officials accountable…who can attend public meetings…who can look at issues and try to weigh them or give them some credibility as they report about what’s going on.”
It’s unclear at this point exactly how many buyouts the company will offer…and what those packages will consist. Booth has a guaranteed employment policy…meaning those employees who don’t take buyouts can’t be laid off. But they could be moved to different positions in other cities. This is Sarah Cwiek…WDET news.