Some Bureaus Closing; “People en Español” Spared
Time Inc. — whose magazine properties include Essence and People en Español in addition to Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and People — said Thursday it was laying off 292 people, 117 from the business side and 172 journalists.
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“Time, the company’s flagship magazine, is also cutting about 50 people, and is shutting down bureaus in Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Seven positions in its Washington bureau and three in Paris are being eliminated,” as Katherine Seelye reported on the New York Times Web site.
Time Inc. spokeswoman Dawn Bridges told Journal-isms it was not yet known how diversity at the company would be affected.
“It’s unclear at this point as in many cases we’re asking for volunteers and we won’t know who volunteers for another 2 – 4 weeks,” she said via e-mail.
Nancy Valentino, a spokeswoman for People, told Journal-isms, “I can confirm that we are closing four Bureaus: Miami, Chicago, Austin and Washington. I can also tell you that we are creating a new, news-gathering structure with seven positions across the country, in addition to our large freelance reporter network.
“People en Español was not affected today by any lay-offs. They were not affected in any way.”
Sonja Steptoe of Time magazine’s Los Angeles bureau, apparently the only African American in the Time magazine bureaus that are closing, told Journal-isms, “I’ve been retained.”
Bridges said that of the 172 Time Inc. journalists affected overall, 86 would leave voluntarily and 86 involuntarily. She said she had no breakdown by gender or race of the 86 involuntary layoffs.
The voluntary cuts will come from union-covered volunteers who have been given until mid-February to accept buyout offers, according to Lucia Moses, writing on MediaWeek.com.
In an announcement to the staff, Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore said:
“As you all know, the past year has been a time of transition at Time Inc. While we continue to invest in our core magazines, we are also focused on transforming our workforce and broadening our digital capabilities in order to become a truly multi-platform publisher.
“We’ve made a lot of progress. Many of our web sites have matured into strong and popular brand vehicles, while others are relaunching new designs with fresher content. Meanwhile, our magazines continue to be some of the most popular and relevant titles on the newsstand today.
“But progress brings change and we need to continue to evolve to meet the cost pressures and challenges presented by our rapidly-shifting industry.
“These layoffs, which are in several business areas and on both the edit and publishing sides of a number of titles, are part of a restructuring necessary to sustain our progress.
“You will continue to hear much speculation about our company in the press, so I encourage you to stay focused. I know this is a difficult time for all of us — itâ??s never easy to see talented colleagues leave.”
Essence magazine, acquired by Time two years ago, trimmed the jobs of “a number of employees” in November 2005, and Essence staffers said privately then that six who were offered severance packages included Jan deChabert, the magazine’s creative director; Ingrid Sturgis, editor of Essence.com; and Michaela angela Davis, executive fashion and beauty editor.
Spokeswomen for Essence were not available for comment on how today’s announcement affected the nation’s largest magazine targeting black women.
