Tags : Boston bureau, Boston bureau layoff
Journal to Close Boston Bureau, Lay Off 9 As Ad Revenue Falls
New York, NY (AHN) – The editor of the Wall Street Journal thought the unthinkable on Thursday and announced the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston bureau is closing, resulting in the layoff of nine reporters.
Managing Editor Robert Thomson revealed the decision in a memo to staffers, saying that “we remain in the midst of a profound downturn in advertising revenue and thus must think the unthinkable.”
The affected reporters will be able to apply for other jobs within the Journal, the memo said. The Journal is owned by News Corp.
An “investigative function” will stay at the bureau, according to Thomson. Coverage of mutual fund companies in the Boston area will be transferred to the Money and Investing Team, which will remain in place.
The Newswires bureau and Marketwatch staff in Boston will not be affected.
The staff reductions come as media publications are experiencing a dramatic drop in advertising revenues, which fell 29 percent in the first six months of the year.
Combined circulation of the Journal’s print and online editions rose 0.6 percent in the six months through September compared to the same period in 2008. Print-only circulation fell 2.4 percent.
In 2007, two Journal reporters at the Boston bureau won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for stories about back-dated stock options for corporate executives.
The Journal has a news staff of about 750 people.
At mid-afternoon, trading in News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) was up 4.7 percent.
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