March 21, 2012 04:58 PM UTC

More Layoffs Hit Declining Denver Post

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: The only additional personnel change at the Denver Post we’ve heard about today, though we’ve been warned that more may come at any moment, is the return of columnist Chuck Murphy to the editing role he had previously–no word yet on a replacement for his column, or for that matter Mike Littwin’s or Penny Parker’s. The paper continues to seek cost savings, reportedly scrapping New York Times News Service reprints. We’ve also heard that a number of Post employees have accepted significant new pay cuts.

Perversely but recognizing the need for journalism to go on, you might consider pay cuts to be good news compared to the alternative of layoffs where offered. After all, they’ll still have a job.

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UPDATE: Westword’s Michael Roberts:

“Apparently, more is coming down today,” Parker says.

To put it mildly, Parker didn’t see the layoff coming. “Kick me in the head, seriously. I knew nothing, nothing. My poor, 33-year-old boss” — business editor Kristi Arellano — “had to tell me. I feel really bad for her. This is not what she signed on for.”

She adds that “I would have expected Greg Moore,” the Post’s editor, “to have called me. He didn’t, and I’m disappointed.”

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That’s the word from our sources this morning–yesterday, responding to continuing declines in revenue, The Denver Post once again began laying off newsroom and editorial staff. We’ve learned that columnists Mike Littwin and Penny Parker were let go yesterday. The loss of Littwin in particular, one of the Denver Post’s best pickups from the ashes of the Rocky Mountain News, will greatly harm the landscape of political commentary in our state.

We’re told that the Post must cut some $500,000 in newsroom overhead, and that more layoffs are imminent throughout the organization. As soon as we have names, we’ll share them.

And no, our recent criticism of the Post does not make this a positive development to us. The problems we have with the Post’s journalism will not be solved by less journalism.