The axe at Gannett has already struck its first victims after the publisher of more than 80 daily newspapers announced plans on Tuesday to cut 700 employees. Cuts have hit papers from New Jersey to Iowa, from Florida to Ohio.
The greatest cuts appear to have occurred at the Indiana Star, which is reportedly cutting 62 jobs and eliminating 19 unfilled positions. The Westchester Journal News is also cutting 47 staff members, a particular blow considering the paper is no stranger to monstrous cuts ─ in 2009, the Journal News cut 70 newsroom positions and made all 288 of its news and advertising employees reapply for their jobs.
Other papers that are being bludgeoned by the axe: the Louisville Courier-Journal, which is axing 36 employees, and the Arizona Republic, which is losing 30 employees.
The only thing shakier than Gannett jobs might be the outcome of gay marriage legislation in New York. Or an earthquake.
