AS THE GLOBE BURNS: NEWSPAPER ALREADY CUT OFF FROM COMMUNITY MAKES DEEPER CUTS

Image by Tak Toyoshima

The newspaper industry is immeasurably fucked. Nothing new to report on that front. But as one of the few Boston media watchdogs that bites, we’d be negligent in our reportorial duties if we entirely ignored the most recent guillotine parade at the Boston Globe. From an October 15 memo sent by Globe Editor Brian McGrory to staffers (via Boston Magazine):

In all, we’re parting ways with nearly two dozen part- and full-time staffers, some relatively new, some who’ve been here a long time. Another 17 newsroom members accepted the recent buyout and have left already or are planning to leave in the coming weeks.

You can’t blame McGrory alone for the slumping Globe. From its paywall to the role of its editorial page as a sounding pad for moneyed neoliberal notions about charter schools and innovation, the grey lady ain’t speakin’ the language of real people, and in order to grow actual readership in such trying times for newspapers, that’s exactly what you gotta do.

Lastly, and we’ll keep this brief, McGrory also noted “there were no good choices to be made [in last week’s round of layoffs]—only necessary ones.” He may be right in terms of trimming extra fat, but in 2015, any city outlet that increasingly serves and is produced by suburbanites with compromised and myopic agendas will continue to flounder—even with a lighter payroll.