550 media workers are being laid off from Booth News/MLive

It was confirmed today on MLive that 550 layoff notices were sent out to employees of the Booth News chain, as part of the company’s “restructuring plan.” Restructuring is code for eliminating workers in order to increase profits.

The “restructuring plan” involves the creation of two new media companies, MLive Media Group and Advanced Central Services Michigan. While these two new entities are being framed as new companies, they are both still part of the much larger media conglomerate Advance Publications.

In the article MLive Media Group President Dan Gaydou engages in a bit of double speak about how many people will be employed under the new restructuring. However, in a November 2^nd Media Release, Gaydou was a bit more honest about his motivations for the restructuring and whose interests he serves.

“Our new company will be dedicated to meeting the needs of audiences, regardless of the platform, and developing solutions for our business partners, based on their needs…….. MLive Media Group will focus on innovation and community engagement, measuring our shared success by that of our employees, advertisers, local communities and business partners alike.”  

It appears to this writer that business interests are what is primary and, in a digital world, that means advertisers and underwriters.

It is impossible to say how many people who work for Booth Newspapers will be without a job once the restructuring takes place in February 2012, but numerous current employees will be unemployed. This is not at all surprising for two reasons. First, since Booth Newspapers have been part of the media conglomerate Advanced Publications, their primary goal has been to make a profit, not to inform the public. This major theme is explored in the most recent issue of the magazine Extra, a publication of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, in the cover story, Media Monopoly Revisited.

Second, since Booth Newspapers are not unionized, the ability of workers to resist “restructuring” is very limited. This restructuring has been an ongoing process. We have been aware of the ongoing downsizing of Grand Rapids Press staff, eliminating benefits, using more part time writers and stringers, which definitely affects the quality of journalism that the public deserves.

With the layoff of hundreds of workers, we can expect to see some changes in the quality of information that will be on Mlive. There will no doubt be more information that is culled from other online sources, meaning less on the ground journalism will take place. Another outcome will most likely be an increase in cross-promotional reporting, which will be stories about events that were advertised on MLive.

Lastly, this ongoing shift in how the corporate media operates, with a total disregard for workers, is all the more reason for the public to support independent media and make our own. As A.J. Liebling once said, “Freedom of the Press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”