Once a mighty media giant, the Miami Herald is sinking like the Titanic.
And instead of jumping ship, journalists and other employees are being thrown overboard.
The Herald announced Wednesday that it is dumping nearly 20 percent of its workforce to save its own hide in a move that still doesn't guarantee that more blood-letting won't be necessary to fix the newspaper's ills, according to a report in newspaper.
"Reductions will occur in all areas of our operation and at every level in the organization," wrote publisher David Landsberg in a company-wide E-mail ominously entitled "Workforce and Wage Reductions."
The E-mail probably should have been called "Death Knell." Or how about, "We couldn't pay you even if you wanted to work for free."
And Landsberg was kidding about reductions everywhere. The size of the newspaper itself will shrink.
On top of the layoffs, those fortunate enough to keep their jobs will take a ten percent pay cut.
Landsberg, who's keeping his job, seemed all broken up about the decision to take such a big swing of his axe:
All of these are difficult decisions, especially when it means saying goodbye to so many of our friends and colleagues. But we must make these additional cuts to ensure the viability of our newspapers and to adjust to new competitive and economic realities.
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But the news wasn't all bad.
The Herald was generous enough to give employees a week of unpaid vacation, perfect for spending valuable time with the family and panhandling near Interstate 95 to make up for the thousands of dollars in lost wages.
