New York Times buyout watch, 2014
By Joe Pompeo and Jeremy Barr 5:40 a.m. | Nov. 17, 2014
With a looming deadline for New York Times buyout applications, details about employees who have taken the package—or are believed to be strongly considering it—are starting to trickle out.
For starters, Capital has learned of two top business-side executives, Yasmin Namini and Tom Carley, who have opted for the buyout.
We've also confirmed that some buyout packages in the newsroom have already been accepted. Sources wouldn't specify names or numbers, but talk of potential or likely takers is spreading among their colleagues.
If buyouts are accepted for some of the bylines floated by multiple newsroom sources, the paper would see high-profile departures from its media, finance, culture and politics pages.
The Times announced on Oct. 1 that it needed to eliminate 100 newsroom positions as a cost-cutting measure. Executives said they hoped to achieve the reduction through voluntary buyouts but that layoffs would be necessary otherwise.
This year's downsizing, the fourth such mass reduction since the paper's first in 2008, comes while the Times is struggling with growth as it battles ongoing print advertising declines that have not fully been countered by gains in digital advertising and digital circulation.
The latest culling would bring the editorial headcount down to 1,230 from 1,330. The newsroom has seen ebbs and flows in its size over the past six years as resources have been redistributed to encourage digital growth.
As with previous buyouts, the current round appears to be tailored to longtime employees who are perhaps less essential to the growth blueprint.
Packages for members of the Newspaper Guild, a union that represents about 1,100 Times employees, range from 15 weeks of pay and four months' health coverage for employees with between five and six years of service, to double one year's pay, an additional 35 percent of that total and eight months' health coverage for employees with at least 35 years under their belts, according to the Guild.
Non-Guild employees are generally eligible for two weeks of salary per year of service, with the total capped at one year’s salary, according to the Times. Those with 20 years or more also are eligible for an additional cash payout of 35 percent of their total severance.
All buyout applications must be submitted by Dec. 1 and acceptance notifications will be delivered no later than 5 p.m. on December 2. Employees whose applications have been accepted are given 10 days to change their minds.
A source familiar with the process said the terms were roughly the same both for newsroom employees and the small number of senior business-side employees who were deemed eligible.
A Times spokesperson had no comment.
We'll be keeping a running tally of confirmed buyouts in the space below. Know of any? Are you a taker? Tip us: joe@capitalnewyork.com and/or jbarr@capitalnewyork.com.
• In a Nov. 6 staff memo obtained by Capital, Times publisher-chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and C.E.O. Mark Thompson announced that two long-serving business-side executives would be taking the buyout: chief consumer officer Yasmin Namini and S.V.P. of ventures Tom Carley.
Namini is a 30-year veteran who ascended the ranks of thecirculation department and was instrumental in implementing the Times' paid digital model in 2011. Carley has been with the Times since 1987 with roles including president of news services and head of strategic planning.
"Mark has asked each of them to stay into early next year to help in the transition as we reorganize under new leadership in digital and in marketing," the memo said.
• A source with direct knowledge of the newsroom buyouts said a "handful" have already been approved. The source would not provide names because it was possible some of those employees had not yet been informed.
• David Corcoran, editor of the Times' weekly science section, Science Times, confirmed to Capital that he's taking a buyout and will be retiring as of Dec. 19. Corcoran has worked for the Times since 1988, and has also served as health editor and assistant science editor.
Nov. 20: After giving Capital a terse "no comment" last Thursday, chief financial correspondent Floyd Norris confirmed to Talking Biz News today that he is taking a buyout and leaving the Times after 26 years. “After many years of doing two columns a week, I think it might be interesting to do something else, perhaps at a foundation or university, or perhaps writing on a less hectic schedule,” Norris told Talking Biz News. “If other opportunities arise, I will consider them, but for a while, I expect simply to take a break and be happily retired.” His last day is Dec. 19.
• Brian Knowlton, a D.C.-based editor and correspondent for The International New York Times, is taking a buyout after more than three decades at the company, according to a memo obtained by Capital. Knowlton's career began at The International Herald Tribune before the Paris-based foreign edition was rebranded as The International New York Times last year.
"In the 35 years since Brian first walked into the Trib newsroom in Neuilly, he has outlasted corporate owners and many, many editors, while witnessing a whole lot of history, much of which he recorded as the paper's man in Washington for the last two decades," Europe editor Dick Stevenson wrote in the memo. "At every step of the way, he has been a warm and generous colleague and a true trans-Atlantic diplomat, always under challenging deadlines."
• Additionally, Times staffers also were informed in a memo today that Fern Turkowitz, who serves as assistant to the sports editor, is retiring "after 47 years of ceaseless dedication."
• Yet another memo, this one from deputy executive editor Janet Elder, obtained and published by Mother Jones: "Early efforts to handicap the outcome regrettably point to having to do some layoffs. For the most part, we've been trying to review and either accept or reject voluntary buyout applications as they come in. Not all applications can be approved. Some jobs are too critical to our mission to let go."
Nov. 21: The Times' legal department sent out the following note to employees this week to clarify what happens if a buyout taker dies:
The Company wants to ensure that all employees participating in the buyout are secure in knowing that if anything should happen to them, any buyout payments remaining will still be paid out to their families. To that end, the attached notice advises you that the Excluded Buyout Plan has been amended to clarify that if an employee participant dies before all his/her buyout monies are distributed, the remaining monies due will be paid to the employee’s estate.
• Recode's Edmund Lee reports:
About 29 people have applied for the buyout with about 14 who have been accepted by management so far, according to two insiders. Applications, due Dec. 1, are still incoming, but based on an informal survey, the Times could fall short of its goal by as many as 25 to 30 positions, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. The Times could also be satisfied with less than 100 volunteers so long as the jobs being eliminated allow the Times to hit their financial goals.
But if the Times does have to fire people, it’ll do so by around Dec. 19, just before the holidays, one person said.
Nov. 26: The New York Post's Keith Kelly reports:
At the end of last week, there were only 29 requests in for voluntary buyout packages according to Grant Glickson, the Newspaper Guild’s unit representative at the Times. By Tuesday, six days before deadline, the union said the number had only grown to the “high 30s.”
The deadline to apply is Dec. 1 at 5 p.m.
If the Times is not able to get its desired 100 volunteers, Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., and Executive Editor Dean Baquet warned that the company would make up the difference with involuntary cuts.
Additional employees are expected to submit requests by the deadline, Glickson told Media Ink — adding that he expects there will have to be “about 20-to-25 layoffs.”
• Capital's Nicole Levy has learned that Joseph Berger and Lon Teter have announced they are taking the buyout.
Berger, who's been a reporter and editor at the Times since 1984, confirmed the news with Capital.
Teter, the Times' special sections editor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but his acceptance of the buyout was publicized on a Facebook group for Times alumni. UPDATE: "Yes, it's correct," Teter tells us via email. "I am taking the buyout and retiring on Dec. 5 after 26 1/2 years at The Times. I'm turning 63 in January and am happy to be able to retire."
Dec. 1: Times veteran David Firestone, who joined the paper's editorial board in 2010, announced on Twitter that he's taking a buyout. "After 21 years of reporting, editing and pontificating at the NYT, I'm taking the buyout," he wrote. "Will miss so many great colleagues; more fun TK."
• Poynter's Andrew Beaujon reported that sports reporter Barry Bearak is taking a buyout. Bearak, a former foreign bureau chief who won a Pulitzer in 2002, has been with the Times since 1997. Poynter also confirmed several other takers, including D.C.-based reporter Edward Wyatt and culture desk members Ron Wertheimer, David DeWitt, Christopher Phillips and Ray Cormier.
• Bill Carter, a longtime television reporter and one of the most senior figures on the Times' media desk, confirmed to Capital that he's taking a buyout.
In a brief phone interview, Carter called the decision to leave "tremendously agonizing ... I love this job and I love The New York Times and I have many close friends here. ... It's really not because I want to work somewhere else."
Rather, Carter said he was swayed by the financials of the offer.
"This is a pretty amazing offer for journalists who don't expect to get that kind of severance ever," he said. "I felt like I owed it to my family and myself to sort of get a nest egg out of this."
What's next? Carter said that he "deliberately" did not seek job offers at other publications while considering a buyout. "I'm just gonna hear and see if people call me up. I hope they do and maybe I'll consider whatever comes up," he said. "I'll be open to whatever."
• Don Hecker, director of The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, confirmed to Capital that he's taking a buyout. Hecker co-founded the annual training program, which recruits minority journalists. "I joined The Times in 1992 as a copy editor, was head of the Metro copy desk, and am now an editor in the newsroom's administrative unit, where I have done recruiting and newsroom training," Hecker told Capital in an email.
• After the 5 p.m. Dec. 1 deadline passed, a source close to the process confirmed that 61 Guild members applied for the buyout as well as around 20 non-Guild employees. The source emphasized that not all of the applications have been approved by Times management: "Now it's decision time."
Dec. 2: Lexi Mainland, special projects editor for interactive news, announced on Twitter that she's leaving. Mainland first joined the Times in 2006. "After 8.5 years, I'm moving on from @nytimes," she wrote. "It's been the thrill of a lifetime to play a part in the world's best journalism. I'll miss @nytimes immensely. It's been a fantastic adventure. Another one will begin soon. Stay tuned!"
• Poynter confirmed three additional names: late-night news editor David Geary, assistant business editor Jack Lynch and photographer Fred R. Conrad.
• Reporter Christine Haughney, who covers magazines and newspapers, announced on Twitter that she's leaving the Times. "After 8 years with @nytimes including nearly 3 years writing about my colleagues in the troubled newspaper industry, I am taking a buyout!" she wrote. "Still deciding what I'm going to do after @nytimes. But I'm excited to figure it out!"
• Douglas Martin, an obituary writer for the Times, is also taking a buyout, a source tells Capital. A staff memo yesterday announced his departure this way: "Doug Martin, who strode into the West 43rd Street headquarters of The Times in 1980 and went on to carve out a sterling 34-year reporting career with the paper, has decided to retire."
Just the names:
• Yasmin Namini, chief consumer officer
• Tom Carley, S.V.P. of ventures
• David Corcoran, editor, Science Times
• Floyd Norris, chief financial correspondent
• Brian Knowlton, editor; correspondent for The International New York Times
• Fern Turkowitz, assistant to the sports editor
• Joseph Berger, reporter and editor
• Lon Teter, special sections editor
• David Firestone, editorial board
• Barry Bearak, sports writer
• Bill Carter, television reporter
• Edward Wyatt, D.C.-based reporter
• Ron Wertheimer, culture desk
• David DeWitt, staff editor, The Arts
• Christopher Phillips, editor, culture desk
• Ray Cormier, staff editor, culture desk
• Don Hecker, administrative/recruiting
• Lexi Mainland, special projects editor, interactive news
• David Geary, late-night news editor
• Jack Lynch, assistant business editor
• Fred R. Conrad, photographer
• Christine Haughney, media reporter
• Douglas Martin, obituary writer
More to come... |
