Southern California Public Radio, which runs local station LAist (formerly known as KPCC), said Tuesday that it would cut staff by more than 10% due to a revenue shortfall.
In a note to employees, President and Chief Executive Herb Scannell announced the elimination of 21 positions as part of a restructuring. Scannell said the cuts are also part of an effort to accelerate growth in digital media.
Scannell described the retrenchment as an effort to better deliver on its “cross-platform, public service mission.” SCPR owns and operates the LAist website, as well as its local radio station that broadcasts on the 89.3 FM frequency.
The shift was intended as a step toward creating “a sustainable business model for an increasingly digital future,” he wrote.
LAist’s report on the layoffs said cutbacks primarily involve administrative staff, producers and technicians. The shortfall had much to do with softness in the advertising business and a pullback of promotional efforts by Hollywood studios amid the writers’ strike. The report noted that the group is pulling back on podcasting, a business that has struggled recently.
LAist’s contraction comes amid a devastating economy for news organizations, which have been forced to cut hundreds of journalist jobs.
Last week, the Los Angeles Times announced that it was cutting 74 newsroom positions, also due to a budget gap. (The number of layoffs was reduced to 73 later after a team leader volunteered to depart.) On Monday, the New York Times announced that it was cutting 20 jobs from the Athletic, its sports news site, representing 4% of its staff.
In the last year, the Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Vice Media and Insider have laid off journalists. Buzzfeed News and MTV News have shut down. NPR, which supplies programming to LAist, cut 10% of its workforce in February.
“While we’ve managed to reduce spending and mitigate costs in the past year, that approach is no longer feasible in the new fiscal year,” Scannell wrote in his message. “We need to reallocate resources to maintain a consistent digital presence. This involves giving priority to digital-first reporting and strengthening our audience development efforts moving forward.”
A station spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
Staff members who lost their jobs will be offered severance packages and “other resources to support their transition,” Scannell’s memo said.
“While being able to balance the books is a fundamental requirement of our business, these changes optimally position us to succeed in a competitive digital landscape,” Scannell wrote. “To that end, we are posting several new roles in the coming days, and we anticipate adding new roles in the next fiscal year to accelerate our digital transition.”
