Parent company McClatchy Media laid off 10 journalists and three editors at the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.
Michael Lycklama, chair of the Idaho News Guild, the union representing most Statesman reporters, said that’s 60% of the newsroom.
Lycklama was a sports reporter for the paper for 12 years. He said he got an email Thursday morning notifying him of an HR meeting 30 minutes later.
“That was all the notice that I got, and got a nonsensical explanation that didn't explain any reasons why they're doing the things that they're doing,” he said.
McClatchy laid off staff in newsrooms across the country. An exact count is unknown, but Poynter reports at least 90 journalists have been affected across 13 papers.
The New York Times reports McClatchy told employees subscriber revenue had fallen 41%. A layoff notice McClatchy sent to union leadership and shared with Boise State Public Radio listed shifting subscriber interests and changes in the ways people engage with news as the reason for its restructuring. The company said it is focusing resources on journalism, subscriber value and what serves local communities.
Lycklama said the statesman’s laid-off staff is devastated at how employees and the local community are being treated.
“You go back 20 years or so ago, and we had 100 people in our newsroom. Now we're going to have nine,” he said. “The result of that is our community will get less of the news they need. And more politicians, more companies, more shady business will get away with more things because there are fewer watchdogs in this community."
Unionized newsroom employees went on a one-day strike earlier this year protesting AI content and what they called unfair wages. They’d finally reached a contract with McCatchy in June.
“We're organizing with all the other unions across the country, from Sacramento to Miami to Kansas City to Charlotte to Fort Worth,” he said. “And we're going to see what our options are, what we can do, how we can fight back, and we'll pursue every option to its fullest.”
McClatchy Media did not respond to a request for comment.
