Reeling Michigan News Outlets Face Layoffs, Furloughs, Pay Cuts

By Madeline Ciak, Michigan Advance

As journalists across Michigan and the country have been tirelessly covering the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now facing new hazards: job losses, furloughs and pay cuts.

Several big media outlets in Michigan, including the Detroit Free Press, MLive and the Detroit News, have announced cutbacks. This comes at a time when many reporters are taking risks to report crucial stories about the disease, as well as provide information to help keep people healthy and safe.

Sporting events, concerts and countless community events have been canceled due to COVID-19. Businesses have closed or reduced their hours. That has led to a big loss in ad revenue at media outlets.

The Columbia Journalism Review has pointed out that some layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs taking place at newspapers and other media outlets nationwide weren’t all caused by COVID-19. Some had to do with mismanagement and a decline in print readership, but the disease accelerated problems within organizations. There also were layoffs already planned due to the late 2019 Gannett-GateHouse merger.

Many Michigan outlets went through rounds of layoffs during the Great Recession from 2007 and 2009 and beyond. Since then, newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, have done employee buyouts to cut costs. In 2016, MLive cut 29 positions and laid off freelancers and columnists.

The Metro Times, an alternative weekly paper in Detroit, was one of the first outlets to take a hit from COVID-19. The paper announced in March it had laid off eight employees.

MLive Media Group, which owns websites and newspapers that cover Flint, Bay City, Saginaw, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Muskegon and operates a Lansing bureau, announced this week it’s cutting employee wages after a steep loss in ad revenue because of COVID-19, according to Crain’s Detroit. MLive said the company also will eliminate 401(k) contributions and require all workers to take a week off per month until July 31 without pay.

Some employees working at the Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal, Petoskey News-Review and the Holland Sentinel, which are owned by Gannett Inc., will be required to take one week off per month through June without pay, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

The Detroit News, which is owned by Alden Global Capital, also will require some workers to take one week off per month through June, according to Crain’s Detroit.

C&G Newspapers, a chain of weekly papers in Macomb and Oakland counties, has temporarily suspended printing newspapers and laid off staff members, Bridge reports. Staff members were laid off at the Troy-Somerset Gazette, Crain’s Detroit reports.

There have been layoffs at local radio stations, too.

Two on-air personalities who formerly had spots on sports talk radio station 97.1 The Ticket, owned by Entercom, were laid off at the beginning of April, the Detroit News reported.

In addition, Beasley Media Group, who owns radio stations such as 94.7 WCSX, 105.1 The Bounce, and 101 WRIF, laid 26 people off on April 1 according to a document on the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s website.

This isn’t just happening in Michigan, however — journalists and reporters are being impacted all over the country.

Poynter has a running list of layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts reported at newspapers, digital media groups, television and radio stations, and magazines. Forbes also is reporting layoffs and pay cuts at national media outlets. Some big national outlets and chains impacted are Buzzfeed, Condé Nast, Sports Illustrated and the Hill.