'Village Voice,' 'Blaze' Lay Off Staffers

The Village Voice has laid off most its union employees, following its announcement last week that the storied alt-weekly publication would end its print edition.

The Village Voice let go 13 of its 17 union employees on Wednesday, The New York Times reports. Their last day will be after the third week of September, when the paper’s last free print edition will be distributed.

Those laid off include a writer, a social media producer, an administrative assistant and a photo editor. The cuts mostly affected the business side and positions associated with the selling and production of the print paper, a spokesman for the Voice told the NYT.

advertisement

advertisement

“The staff reductions initiated yesterday are part of a larger set of budget cuts aimed at reallocating resources as we reconfigure The Village Voice into a digitally focused company,” the spokesperson added.

The Voice’s union members are represented by the United Auto Workers Local 2110.

The paper, which was founded in 1955 and known for its coverage of New York City’s culture, social and political issues, as well as nightlife, will live online.

Separately, Glenn Beck’s conservative news organization TheBlaze and his production company, Mercury Radio Arts, are laying off more than 20% of its workforce. Beck attributed the majority of cuts to the “structural challenges facing media companies today” in a post on TheBlaze.com.

In a Medium post, Jonathan Schreiber, president of Mercury Radio Arts, outlined those challenges, ranging from pressures on advertising and lack of funding for conservative media.

The company’s staff was once around 300, but cuts in the last few years have halved that number, according to Deadline. Last April, TheBlaze let go of about 40 people.

Beck suggested these moves are the start of a new era for the brand, which was founded in 2011. It broadcasts on regional cable networks across the U.S., as well as publishing online.

Beck wrote: “We needed to become more nimble and drastically adjust our approach to keep pace with the massive changes unfolding before us.”

Next story loading loading..