Tronc swung the ax hard on the New York Daily News — cutting half the newspaper's editorial staff, including editor-in-chief Jim Rich and managing editor Kristen Lee.
Tronc, in an announcement sent Monday to employees of the 99-year-old tabloid, said the massive cutbacks will include refocusing the paper's coverage on breaking news.
"We are fundamentally restructuring the Daily News," according to an announcement Tronc sent to . "We are reducing today the size of the editorial team by approximately 50% and re-focusing much of our talent on breaking news — especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility."
Tronc has named Robert York, previously editor-in-chief of the company's Morning Call newspaper in Allentown, Pa., to head the NY Daily News as of next Monday, July 30.
In a tweet early Monday, departing NY Daily News EIC Rich wrote, "If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you." Rich's Twitter profile currently reads, "Just a guy sitting at home watching journalism being choked into extinction."
Tronc bought the NY Daily News last fall for a token $1 and the assumption of operational costs and pension liabilities.
The New York Daily News had been owned since 1993 by real-estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, who had previously engaged in sporadic attempts to sell the tabloid in recent years. Zuckerman bought the Daily News for $36 million.
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