With staff cuts looming, The New York Times is seeking to ease fears that it may eliminate certain sections from its print edition.
In a memo to staff, Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger categorically denied a New York Post report stating that the paper was “weighing ending the print edition of its Sunday magazine, folding the Metro section, making the weekly book review section online-only and leasing out space in its Midtown headquarters.”
But even in his denial of the Post report, Sulzberger did allow that the paper would be undergoing changes.
“As you all know, we are in a period of transformation as we adapt our newsroom, opinion and the other parts of our business for our future. And, we’ve been very clear that this may result in changes in the size and shape of our operation, changes that we are committed to keeping you informed about,” Sulzberger wrote.
“With that said, I do want to debunk a piece in The New York Post yesterday which made claims that are categorically untrue and should simply be ignored,” he continued.
“We are fully committed to coverage of New York City and have no intention of ending Metro coverage,” Sulzberger wrote before adding, “Further, The New York Times Magazine and our Sunday Book Review are two of the most successful and popular products in our very powerful arsenal. We will not cease producing them in print.”
While these words likely came as comfort to the desks in question, they can hardly have calmed fears about impending cuts. Late-year layoffs and buyouts have been a somber tradition at the Times for several years now, and the paper is expected to cut hundreds of positions before January.
Back in May, executive editor Dean Baquet told his staff “that the changing economics of journalism make it unlikely we can sustain a newsroom of this size, which is larger than it has ever been.”
