In last week’s Roundup, we recommended a NorthBay biz article by Bill Meagher on the sale of The Press Democrat to Alden Global Capital. At the end of the article, we said that The Press Democrat had lost 15 journalists since the acquisition.
We heard from The Press Democrat’s Community Journalism Lead Amie Windsor about this figure. She wrote, “We are requesting a correction: 15 journalists have NOT left the newsroom. Since MNG [Media News Group, a subsidiary of Alden Capital] took over in May, one journalist took a buyout from the company and five more were laid off (three photographers and two from the North Bay Business Journal). Three (two editors and one copy editor) sought new positions. That means we have lost 9 in all. Not 15. The majority of your very local, hardworking reporters are still on board working at The Press Democrat.”
So down 9, not 15.
To clarify, we went with the 15 figure not merely because it was in Meagher’s article but because it was confirmed by a former Sonoma Media Investments executive. Unfortunately, it turned out that he was speaking not about journalist positions at The Press Democrat in particular, but current and planned journalist positions at all Sonoma Media Investments newspapers. We apologize for the error.