• by Sara Guaglione , January 30, 2017

The Dallas Morning News will outsource the design and layout of its print edition to GateHouse Media and cut around 20 jobs from its 50-person print team. Five other positions in the newsroom have been cut as well.

In a memo to staff, editor Mike Wilson referred to the paper’s “ongoing declines in print-related revenues” and total revenue declines, which are forcing The Dallas Morning News to make “difficult but necessary changes...to help the company continue to align its revenues with its expenses.”

Wilson said he will “prioritize reporting and editing over product,” and contract GateHouse Media to design its newspaper.

The Dallas Morning News will eliminate the roles of copy editor and designer by early June, a total of 20 production jobs.

GateHouse has a production hub in Austin called the Center for News and Design, where it produces pages for dozens of newspapers at a lower cost, Wilson wrote. GateHouse copy edits and designs more than 200 newspapers.

The Dallas Morning News will create a team of “multiplatform editors” who will produce stories for the Web, as well as copy edit and write headlines for print. “Moving forward, we need as many people as possible contributing to our our Web sites,” Wilson wrote.

For those whose jobs have been eliminated, they will have the opportunity to apply for the new positions, Wilson added.

GateHouse Media CEO Kirk Davis told The Dallas Morning News he expects to hire around 50 new people this year at its production center, and Dallas Morning News employees can apply for jobs there.

In a post on Dallas Morning News’ site, the company said it is working to build its marketing services divisions and digital and print subscriptions this year.

Earlier this month, the newspaper finalized an agreement to relocate to The Statler Library.

The paper’s chairman, president and CEO Jim Moroney told the Dallas Business Journal the smaller space will encourage more “collaboration and communication inside the newsroom.”

The Dallas Morning News’ plans to move into its new home by mid-2017.