The New York Daily News on Monday cut their editorial team by 50 percent, and trimmed their sports section down from 35 members to nine.
Some of the casualties include columnist John Harper and reporters Christian Red, Frank Isola, Peter Botte and Mike Mazzeo, who penned tweets in light of the news thanking their readers for following them all these years.
“Word is everywhere, obviously, so I feel obligated to say I’m out at the Daily News with so many others,” Harper said. “Sad day but it was a great run for 25-plus years. Great teammates there. Thanks to all for reading.”
Said Botte: “Thanks to everyone for the extremely kind words and sentiments. In all, 24 additional talented journalists and, more importantly, friends lost their jobs today at @NYDNSports, some not yet public. It’s been a privilege to work alongside every one of them.”
It’s a sad day for what has been a staple newspaper in New York since the early 20th century.
However, with Tronc owning the NYDN these days, they decided that local news wasn’t nearly as important as it truly is.
New York Post columnist Kevin Kernan as well as Post reporter Mike Puma each said that this is the first game they have covered without a Daily News member in attendance.
“Tonight is the first Mets or Yankees game I have ever covered without a Daily News reporter in attendance,” he said. “An awful day for New York journalism.”
The lay-offs at the Daily News are part of a wider spread problem in New York City reporting.
In the past two years alone, the Wall Street Journal cut its Greater New York section, the New York Times downsized its metro desk and Gothamist and DNA Info closed (and reopened, but with less staff) in addition to today’s Daily News bloodbath, according to Asya Pikovsky on Twitter.
We here at MetsMerized hope the writers who lost their jobs today land on their feet soon so we can get back to reading their writing.
