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Perhaps in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, Greater Niagara Newspapers--local henchmen for the Alabama-based Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.--staged their own version of "Bloody Sunday" recently. And the biggest losers were the people of Niagara Falls.
Nine staffers got the axe, including upper management types like Editor Dan Bowerman and Production Director Chris Talley. The jobs of both men, like many others, previously had been moved out of Niagara Falls by the company. Longtime Assistant Sports Editor Dave Staba was told his position was being "eliminated," and Entertainment Editor Assistant Bob Kupczyk also was made to walk the plank.
Additionally, the Gazette lost City Editor Denise Marmo and reporter Steve Trask, both transferred to the lowly Lockport Union Sun & Journal. The moves combine to leave the Gazette newsroom with a skeletal--and highly paranoid--staff experiencing serious morale problems.
"All I can say is it's been like a morgue in here today," one staffer told the Reporter following the bloodbath. "It hasn't been like this since we heard the Gannett chain dumped us four years ago.
"At this point, we don't know the extent of what these layoffs mean, but the newsroom has never been hit like this before," the staffer added.
The slash and burn approach to community journalism that resulted in the editorial department massacre is part of the same philosophy that eliminated dozens of Niagara Falls jobs in the printing, advertising and mailroom departments at the Gazette over the past two years.
Draconian increases in advertising rates and a reduction in the actual size of the newspaper's pages also have been part of the plan to "better serve the community."
While the most recent cuts have resulted in promotions to management for some, there is little left to manage. The latest round of misery inflicted on Niagara County by the Alabamians reportedly will save about $300,000 a year in salary.
How many good newspaper jobs have been "eliminated" or moved out of Niagara Falls over the past two years? Seventy-five? One-hundred? The credibility of any newspaper can be no greater than that of the people who write, edit, print and deliver it.
We hate to see anyone lose their job. We hate to see a great community institution run into the ground by a bunch of yahoos who seem far more interested in debt service payments than about the serious issues affecting the lives of people in the Falls and its environs.
Clearly, the future of Niagara Falls is not a high priority to the forces now controlling the Gazette. Just ask the 22 4-year-olds at the First United Methodist Church Preschool whose parents were shaken down as part of the paper's odious 'Best Of' promotion.
So, the next time the Gazette tries to tell you who to vote for or what position to take on a community issue, remember to consider the source.