Tribune Publishing closes five newsrooms as journalists continue to work from home
The corporate parent of newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun will close five newsrooms permanently due to the uncertainties of continued social distancing, as well as a re-evaluation of the financial cost of keeping physical properties open. According to the Poynter Institute, more than 50 local newsrooms in the U.S. have closed since the start of the pandemic, increasing the number of "news deserts" where there are no local news sources. While the print operations for the affected newspapers continue, journalists will continue to work from home through the end of the year and possibly longer, affecting their ability to keep in touch with their communities and making it difficult to write without the camaraderie and help from others. Some reporters feel, along with their newspapers' unions, that while cutting buildings was better than cutting an understaffed work force, that the company's finances aren't that grim, with $80.5 million in cash assets. Tribune Publishing did finish the second quarter with revenues of $183.1 million as compared to last year's $250.3 million.
See "Tribune Publishing closes five newsrooms as journalists continue to work from home", Ashish Valentine, NPR, August 14, 2020