Staggered by mounting losses and double-digit revenue declines, Postmedia has laid off an undisclosed number of journalists including national film critic Katherine Monk and science writer Margaret Munro.
Postmedia’s vice-president of communications Phyllise Gelfand confirmed the layoffs on Thursday. She said the eliminated positions include national reporters in “a couple” of markets, including Canada.com.
Gelfand did not confirm numbers, but said Twitter reports claiming the entire Canada.com staff had been let go were inaccurate.
She said all national reporting roles have been eliminated, with national content creation now centralized at the National Post. The company also offered voluntary buyout programs at the Windsor Star, Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette, though Gelfand did not disclose targets for the program.
Monk announced her departure via Twitter: “I have just been terminated by Postmedia News Network….Free at last, free at last…..” Other laid-off journalists include Canada.com’s Misty Harris, who covered consumer trends, social science and demographics.
Harris also tweeted Thursday: “The axe has finally fallen after 13 years (like, 30 in newspaper time). Grateful for the time I had to do what I love.”
The #Postmedia hashtag was trending on Twitter Thursday as journalists took to social media to express their condolences to colleagues and criticize the national newspaper chain. One tweet called it “terrible news for Canadian journalism,” while another said “wow, they’re really taking this #PostMedia name literally, eh?”
Last month, Postmedia reported a first quarter loss of $10.3 million on revenues of $169.5 million – down 12.6% from $194 million in the corresponding year-earlier period. The company attributed the declines to a $23.5 million drop in print ad revenue, with declines coming in all categories.
In October, it announced its plan to acquire Sun Media Corporation’s English-language assets, including the Sun chain of dailies, the 24 Hours chain and the Canoe.ca portal, for $316 million.
The company is also in the midst of rolling out its “reimagined” four-platform product across its big city dailies. The platform has already rolled out at the Ottawa Citizen, The Gazette (Montreal) and Calgary Herald.
