Washington Times cuts back staff
According to Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz, the Washington Times is planning to draw down their staff and make some changes in subscriptions and purchase rates;
Nearly three decades after its founding by officials of the Unification Church, the Times said Wednesday it is laying off at least 40 percent of its staff and shifting mainly to free distribution.
In what amounts to a bid for survival, the company said the print edition will focus on its core strengths: politics, national security, investigative reporting and “cultural coverage based on traditional values.” That means the Times will end its run as a full-service newspaper, slashing its coverage of local news, sports and features.
When I moved here over ten years ago, the first thing I did after we moved our furniture into the new apartment was walk down to the store to buy a Washington Times and I’ve done it every single day since – well, actually, I subscribed and had it delivered.
You’ll notice that I source a lot of stuff to the Times these days because they’re the only newspaper in the country that’s reporting a lot of the news no one else is. In fact, they’ve been on fire since the last Presidential election. If you want to read White House press releases, get the Post. If you want the news, get the Times.
To demonstrate how smart they are at the Times, they turned me down when I applied as a part time copy editor there about nine years ago. Shows you how brilliant the copy staff are there.
The Washington Times reports that it will remain in business and adjust it’s business model to the changing economy and technology;
The online edition of The Times will continue, with a greater focus on breaking news and updates. The local print edition will be distributed at no cost in some key areas, and offered for normal single sales through retailers and news boxes.
The company plans to expand TheConservatives.com, its newly launched Web site that showcases op-eds, think pieces and other news of particular interest to conservatives. “America’s Morning News” — a daily national syndicated talk radio that is broadcast from a studio just steps from the Times newsroom — will also continue, and is thriving, Mr. Slevin said.
The program, also billed as “Washington Times investigational radio,” has now expanded into 70 marketplaces across the country.
I hope it works out for them because they filled a void in the market at a crucial time (1982) and we need the Times to continue.
As a daily subscriber to The Times, I bemoan its rapid evanescence. From the full bore, comprehensive editions of old, it has shrunk to a shadow of its former self.
..And soon, in my driveway here in College Park, only a thin gruel of a sheet, I will henceforth get.
Back in the nineties I used to get the Wash Times ever time I made a trip to DC. They even had a weekly edition you could get at Barnes & Noble bookstores in NY.
I wish them every success with their new business model, they have been one of the very few newspapers I would recommend.