Friday was the deadline for Journal Sentinel Inc. employees to apply for the buyout. At this point, the company has not said when, or if, it will announce how many of our co-workers took the buyout, who they were, whether their numbers were sufficient to avoid involuntary cuts or what the target number was for the newsroom, if such a target actually existed.
In this environment, it should be no surprise that various newsroom employees and outside observers have been trying to compile their own lists independently. Journalists don’t just give up seeking information when they hear “no comment” — even from their own company’s human resources department.
Two things to keep in mind about these lists, however:
- Not all of them are entirely accurate. Some of them contain the names of several employees who have told the Guild they did not take the buyout, and of others who considered it but decided against it. In one case, a reporter walked into his editor’s office Thursday for his regular annual evaluation (a favorable one, by the way) and his colleagues incorrectly assumed the editor was urging him to take the buyout. He found out from a former co-worker that he was on a list.
- To the best of our knowledge, none of the lists come from the Guild. The Guild has been compiling its own list to ensure everyone’s rights are protected, but we have been keeping this information confidential at the request of several of the individuals involved.
If you took the buyout — or if an editor encouraged you to do so or said you would be transferred to another position — please contact Guild President Amy Rinard, 1st Vice President Greg Pearson or another Guild representative as soon as possible to ensure we can provide you with all available assistance.