Clarion-Ledger To Cut 5% of Staff

Hard days for the newspaper business (in addition to so many others). Editor & Publisher's reporting that Jackson's hometown paper will be laying off 20 employees:

The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., has to eliminate 20 positions, Publisher Larry Whitaker wrote to staff in a memo posted on Romenseko. Whitaker cites the slowdown in print AND online advertising as the reason for the move.

"While you might have read about staff reductions at other newspapers, we have, up to this point, made tough business decisions to avoid having to take those actions here," wrote Whitaker. "I regret to inform you that we can no longer keep our name off the growing list of newspapers that have reduced staff or are in the process of doing so. The unstable market, higher fuel costs, big spikes in newsprint costs, and a challenging advertising climate have made that impossible."

The cut amounts to 5% of the workforce of the Gannett-owned newspaper. The memo did not address which positions are affected or if those employees will receive severance.

E&P goes on to print the contents of Whitaker's memo, if you're interested.