A designer for the San Jose Mercury News, one of the struggling newspapers in Dean Singleton’s Northern California pod … has put together a moving photo gallery of images from the Merc newsroom.
Martin Gee’s photos are mostly about what is NOT there … which makes them haunting. Well, sad, too.
To go to the photos, click here.
San Jose still has a sizable staff, but in terms of raw numbers … it has suffered the greatest number of newsroom cuts since Dean Singleton took control.
The slideshow is entitled “Reduction in Force.”
Good luck to us all, indeed.
1 response so far ↓
1 From the inside // Apr 11, 2008 at 8:51 PM
Which prompted this bit of loveliness from Dave Butler:
From: Butler, Dave
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 1:15 PM
To: &EDIT ALL
Subject: Looking forward
Folks: I suspect you’ve seen Martin Gee’s photo essay on layoffs on Romenesko by now – or if not, this note will no doubt prompt you to take a look! (It’s the latest in what seems like an unending string of reminders about how great it was in the past. I, too, wish the good ole days were still here – though some of those days didn’t seem so good at the time!)
I felt compelled to say something (and then probably read it everywhere and get hammered by all of the usual folks). In any case, I don’t know where we draw the line between reflecting on the past and focusing on the future. I do know that the Merc still has a very talented and hard-working staff that is committed to producing superb journalism. Doing that was never easy and it’s surely not made any easier if you’re distracted.
Yes, it certainly saddens me that we’ve had to lay off people. And I continue to worry about the shift in advertising to the Web. But I’m not going to whine about it. I can’t imagine there was ever a time when producing strong enterprise reporting was more important – when what we do as newspaper journalists was more important.
I think we have to let go of what was, face the realities of the business as it is today, and concentrate on what can be now to best serve our readers. People throughout this company are working hard: On producing good journalism, on utilizing the Web to get breaking news to people quicker than ever before (as demonstrated earlier this week), on finding answers to the advertising challenges, and on sprucing up the building.
I like working here. I like and respect the people on the staff. I’m committed to this place as I know so many of you have been and continue to be – and to doing great journalism, and to making the physical environments better. (We’ve made some strides there and will make more in the coming weeks.) Somehow, we must shake loose of these constant reminders of what was and focus on what can be. We all got into journalism because we can make a difference in the world. Let’s all focus on doing that as much as is possible.
-Dave
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