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Keith J. Kelly

Keith J. Kelly

 Media
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Tribune exec: Staffers should be singing ‘Glory Hallelujah’ about buyout packages

By
Keith J. Kelly
Published Jan. 30, 2020
Updated Jan. 31, 2020, 9:17 a.m. ET

A Tribune executive has staffers up in arms after saying journalists should be “singing ‘Glory Hallelujah’ ” about the voluntary buyout packages being offered at the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News and other papers.

Ann Barnes, the director of labor relations at Tribune Publishing, made the tone-deaf comment on a recent conference call — insisting that the buyouts will allow people to “end their careers in grace and dignity,” sources said.

“@tribpub says (direct quote) we should be ‘singing glory hallelujah’ over the chance to leave via buyouts,” Virginian-Pilot union rep Sara Gregory tweeted from the Tidewater Media Guild account on Jan. 21. “We’re not. We’re mournful over what this will do to local news in our communities.”

Barnes’ odd remarks followed the Jan. 13 announcement from Tribune CEO Tim Knight that voluntary buyouts were being offered to employees with eight or more years of experience, capped at a maximum of 52 weeks of pay, to help cut costs and avoid mandatory cuts.

One top editor reportedly exiting is Terry Rang at the Allentown Morning Call. She did not return a call seeking comment.

A staffer at the Baltimore Sun said there is a feeling of “existential dread” that the voluntary buyouts will be followed by mandatory cuts, in large part because of the looming presence of Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for vicious cuts and the selling off of assets at other papers it owns, including the Denver Post and Boston Herald. Alden landed two seats on the Tribune board in December after snapping up 32 percent of Tribune stock when it bought out the shares owned by Michael Ferro, the former chairman.

Journalists in Baltimore have reached out to local organizations including the Abell Foundation and the Goldseker Foundation and developer David Cordish but worry they won’t be able to get an offer put together quickly. A stand-still agreement halting Alden from buying more than 33 percent expires on June 30, which many staffers are calling “doomsday.”