The Words of the Slevin Family

Slevin: Didn't consider killing Washington Times print edition

Michael Calderone
December 3, 2009

Washington Times publisher Jonathan Slevin confirmed POLITICO's report yesterday that the paper plans to cut staff by as much as 40 percent -- or possibly even more -- today in the Washington Post.

Times staffers have already dealt with the confusion surrounding the resignations and removal of top editors and executives in the past month. So there was understandable concern yesterday when Slevin called an all-staff meeting to explain the paper's new direction and plans to significantly reduce staff.

All 370 staffers -- including Slevin -- had to sign a letter under that WARN Act, which requires "most employers with 100 or more employees to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs." So basically, everyone is currently in limbo over the next two months.

While it's unclear who the Times will cut as it moves to a free model distributed in federal offices and to other institutions in D.C., staffers couldn't help but notice two sections not listed as core strengths in yesterday's press release: sports and metro.

Slevin, in his interview with the Post, cleared up one ongoing rumor in the newsroom over the past month -- that the print edition would be killed -- and addressed questions about sections which some expect to be cut or largely scaled back.

"Having a print newspaper in Washington, D.C., is something that we did not at all consider giving up, unless it became absolutely necessary," Slevin said.

The plan for mostly free distribution mirrors that of the Washington Examiner, which also has conservative opinion pages, and Politico, which publishes a print edition when Congress is in session but draws its national influence from its Web site. The Times plans to work closely with its sister company, United Press International, which is a shadow of its former self.

Slevin would not confirm that the metro and sports sections will be dropped, saying no final decisions have been made. But with the Times pursuing a national audience, he said, coverage of the Washington Nationals or suburban governments would "be of less interest, if any, to someone in Spokane."

Asked about plans to focus cultural coverage on traditional values, Slevin said that meant "freedom, faith and family," with religion being particularly important "to our faith-based readership." 

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