120 positions being cut at the Chicago Tribune

The bad news just keeps coming for those working for newspapers and other media. The Chicago Tribune announced yesterday that it will be cutting 120 positions, adding to the 80 to 90 positions that were eliminated at the end of 2005.

Publisher and Chief Executive David Hiller said that there are currently around 40 positions that have remained unfilled since the beginning of 2006, which means 80 additional jobs will be "deemed unnecessary and eliminated in the coming months." Managing Editor James O'Shea added that there is no firm figure for the number of newsroom positions to be cut. "We're working through the numbers now, and we're trying to see if we can avoid layoffs," he said.

Hiller says the Tribune will be investing in areas where it envisions growth, which includes its Internet presence and Red Eye, its paper that focuses on entertainment, sports and other lifestyle topics.

Hiller admits that the situation is "hard and painful, ... but we're not facing anything that anybody in the rest of the media industry or, frankly, the rest of American industry, isn't."