More Antique Media Shrinkage – Washington Post to Cut 80 Jobs

March 10th, 2006 11:36 AM

The news just keeps getting worse for those who publish it. Editor & Publisher is reporting (hat tip to Drudge) that the Washington Post is about to cut 80 jobs from its newsroom: “The Washington Post plans to cut at least 80 newsroom jobs through attrition and buyouts, according to sources at the paper who said editors began giving staffers the bad news on Thursday in meetings and will continue today.”

Apparently, this move isn’t the only one the Post is considering to save money: “Other cost cuts also are being rumored, including the eventual closing of at least two foreign bureaus and changes to some other overseas bureaus that would have staffers working out of their homes.”

Now, maybe this is a wild idea, but one has to wonder why major publications like the Post that are seeing declining circulations and ad revenues aren’t considering changing their content. After all, if people are losing interest in your product, it might be beneficial to make alterations that increase its appeal.

Call me crazy.