UPDATE 1-New York Times to cut 100 newsroom jobs
(Adds details, source)
By Kenneth Li
NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The New York Times said on Thursday it will eliminate 100 newsroom jobs as the newspaper girds for a weaker economy and an overall decline in print advertising and circulation revenues.
The New York Times Co (NYT.N), which also publishes the Boston Globe and the International Herald Tribune, said its flagship paper will eliminate these jobs by not filling vacancies, offering buyouts and laying off staff if necessary.
The New York Times employs 1,332 people in its newsroom, a spokeswoman said.
Executive Editor Bill Keller told reporters about the cuts on Thursday in three meetings, a newsroom source said.
"People are worried ... about what it means and where it will stop," the source said, calling it a "very serious cut."
Keller did not specify where the cuts would occur.
The newspaper has cut jobs in recent years, but the overall number of jobs continued to rise, according to a report on its Web site. Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the paper employed 1,078 in 1998.
"We have been increasing the size of our staff while many other papers were shrinking," Mathis said.
New York Times shares have lost nearly half their value while the newspaper publishing industry has suffered from declining print circulation as readers spend more time seeking news and data online and advertisers curb spending amid a difficult economic climate.
The announcement comes after the company said in November it would freeze hiring and cut a small number of newsroom jobs, which did not include journalist positions. At the time Keller told staffers the paper would "rethink" coverage priorities.
The company told Wall Street in late January that it saw "continued challenges" to print advertising in 2008, after reporting a fourth-quarter decline in revenue and profit.
An investor group that owns close to 10 percent of the company's shares is also seeking four board seats and has urged the company to push more aggressively into digital media.
New York Times shares rose 89 cents, or 5 percent, to $18.87 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading. (Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Brian Moss and Leslie Gevirtz)
