• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 16, 2007

Big-print media publishers are wielding axes this week, laying off employees at editorial and business operations to cut costs and streamline their pubs in the online age. Although executives tried to put the best face they could on the announcements, the long-expected cuts are a clear symptom of print media's ongoing woes.

The most sweeping newsroom cuts are coming from Time Inc., which plans to lay off 150 employees, including about 75 on the editorial side. Although Time Inc. hasn't officially confirmed the planned cuts, they are expected to include staffers at Time, People, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune. Last week, a number of senior staffers left the company--some after taking early-retirement deals--including executives and editors from Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

This marks the third straight year of contraction at Time Inc.

In 2006, Time Inc. laid off 577 employees, foreshadowing more shrinkage with the planned sale of special-interest titles in the Time4Media group, which employs about 500 people. In 2005, the company laid off 105 employees.

Overall, Time Inc.'s titles suffered a 4.8% drop in ad pages in 2006, compared to 2005, with some of its most important properties stagnant or in decline. Eponymous flagship title Time was hanging tough at the end of 2006, with 0.8% growth in ad pages, compared to 2005--finishing up at 2,311. And that's where the good news ends.

People sank 2.9% to 3,741, Sports Illustrated dropped 3.5% to 2031, Fortune was down 6.4% to 2,875, Entertainment Weekly slid 7.6%, and Money tumbled 9.6%. Time's special-interest magazines--including many Time4Media and Parenting titles for sale since September 2006--are faring worse. Golf magazine's ad pages declined 7.3%, Field & Stream pages dropped 13.3%, and Outdoor Life's were down 14.9%.

Meanwhile, newspaper executives are conducting a New Year's purge of their own. The New York Times Company announced its intention to offer buyouts to 125 employees from two newspapers in its New England Media Group: the Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. As part of these cuts, they hope to trim the Globe's editorial operations by 19 employees. A similar program near the end of 2005 helped cut about 160 employees.

Over the last several years, the New England Media Group has posted the biggest percent losses of any New York Times Co. division. On a year-over-year basis, ad revenue in the first quarter of 2006 declined 7%, compared to the same period of 2005, second quarter dipped 10%, and third quarter saw a 12% drop. Fourth-quarter results for 2006 are not yet available. However, a look back, comparing 2005 to 2004, paints a picture of an accelerating slump: In the third quarter, revenue was down 2.8% and fourth quarter slipped 4%, compared to the same periods in 2004.

Finally, the Philadelphia Inquirer began a long-predicted round of layoffs with 71 newsroom staffers shown the door--about 17% of the newsroom. Brian Tierney, the publisher and CEO of Inquirer owner Philadelphia Media Holdings, is rumored to have more layoffs in mind--perhaps as much as 30% of the newsroom, or about 150 people.

Shortly after Tierney and a group of local investors purchased the Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News in May 2006, he vowed an end to the strategy of "cut, cut, cut for short-term profits" that typified corporate ownership. The group cites unavoidable market pressures for the change of course.