SERVING MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL / MINNESOTA

MinnPost.com Job Listing of the Day!
MinnPost.com Job Listing of the Day!

Browse
Minnesota Jobs
Direct from Company Websites!

Unadvertised,
Current,
Highest-quality

Start Searching Now!

MinnPost thanks these generous donors of $25,000 or more:

MAJOR FOUNDATIONS

John S. and James L.
  Knight Foundation
Blandin Foundation
McKnight Foundation
Minneapolis Foundation
Otto Bremer Foundation

INDIVIDUALS & FAMILY FOUNDATIONS
Sage & John Cowles
David & Vicki Cox
Toby & Mae Dayton
Sam & Stacey Heins
Joel & Laurie Kramer
Lee Lynch & Terry Saario
Martin & Brown
  Foundation
(See all donors here.)

BrauBlog

  • Switch to Small Text Size
  • Switch to Medium Text Size
  • Switch to Large Text Size
Recommend to a friend Print Submit a Comment

    Pioneer Press lays off Twins reporter, five copy editors

    By David Brauer | Published Tue, Jun 30 2009 12:42 pm

    Filling in the blanks from this morning's report on PiPress layoffs, here are the details from editor Thom Fladung.

    The best-known name is Twins reporter Phil Miller, who is being canned mid-season. Miller and fellow Twins scribe Kelsie Smith are the bottom two reporters, seniority-wise.

    But the copy desk was slammed, with five of the nine cuts coming from that area. How many copy editors are even left?

    As Fladung notes, "We are going to look to accelerate the integration of our copy desks, which we began several months ago with the sharing of more tasks between the hub and sports copy desk."

    Here's the list, which doesn't include product planner Andrew Schaefer, the lone non-newsroom layoff:

    Fellow staffers:

    I am very sorry to announce that today we laid off nine newsroom colleagues, including:

    --- Page designer Dana Albrecht
    --- Copy editor Trish Collopy
    --- Copy editor Sara Connolly
    --- Copy editor Emily King
    --- Sports reporter Phil Miller
    --- Copy editor Andrew Pritchard
    --- Photographer Brandi Thomas
    --- Copy editor Jennifer Westpfahl
    ---- Page designer Amanda Willis

    The layoffs are to deal with the challenges we face in this continuingly difficult economy and amid unprecendented change for our industry.

    In that, we certainly are not alone in the newspaper world.

    That's the reality. But I realize it's little solace. The layoffs bring new challenges to our newsroom. These people are more than just a list of names in an e-mail. They are a talented and productive collection of journalists whose work here included designing dynamic pages, producing memorable photos and videos, covering one of our highest-profile beats in the Twins, writing vibrant headlines and saving us from ourselves by asking good questions and catching and correcting numerous errors of fact and nuance.

    We will miss them.

    This week, faced with the additional challenge of the holiday, we will be scrambling to fill holes. Going forward, we are going to look to accelerate the integration of our copy desks, which we began several months ago with the sharing of more tasks between the hub and sports copy desk. We also will be going to a more universal approach, with more shared work, with our page designers. And we will continue to look for tasks and work that can be eliminated or streamlined without badly damaging our newspaper, online sites and niche magazines.

    Your ideas for that and any other ways we can do our jobs better are most welcome. And as always, I am here for questions. Thom

    Like what you just read? Support high-quality journalism in Minnesota by becoming a member of MinnPost.

    Advertisement:

    7 Comments: Hide/Show Comments

    7 Comment: Hide/Show Comment

    0 Comments:

    E-mail address

    Password

     

    Forgot Password? | Register to Comment

    MinnPost does not permit the use of foul language, personal attacks or the use of language that may be libelous or interpreted as inciting hate or sexual harassment. User comments are reviewed by moderators to ensure that comments meet these standards and adhere to MinnPost's terms of use and privacy policy.

    We intend for this area to be used by our readers as a place for civil, thought-provoking and high-quality public discussion. In order to achieve this, MinnPost requires that all commenters register and post comments with their actual names and place of residence. Register here to comment.


    David Brauer w/ Awesome BeardIllustration by Hugh Bennewitz

    minnpost.com/braublog

    David Brauer authors Braublog and is MinnPost's local media reporter. He's covered media and politics as a writer and editor since 1983 for City Pages, the Southwest/Downtown Journal, KFAN and KSTP-AM, Mpls.St.Paul, Minnesota Monthly, Law & Politics, the Business Journal, KARE11 and national outlets. Follow him on Twitter. Email: dbrauer [at] minnpost [dot] com. 


    MinnPost on Facebook