Ramblings of An Uninformed Man

Mr. Sunbeam knows you want updated numbers. He wishes he had a verified count. All he has is the rumor mill, which isn't exactly buzzing. Nevertheless, he will pass on the following, for which you already have the caveat: the number of buyout-takers is in the low-to-mid 20s. It could be somewhat higher, but still well below the allegedly magic 40 to avoid a layoff.

The Providence Journal, a sister paper of the DMN, has reported to its Newspaper Guild representative that only 16 people had accepted the buyout offer as of Tuesday. That staff has been informed that as many as 54 positions paper-wide must be cut to avoid a layoff.

THIS JUST IN:
As of late Tuesday, departmental meetings are being scheduled for Wednesday to hear a presentation from the managing editor about the "future structure of the newsroom." Business News is scheduled for a 30-minute meeting at 2 p.m. Local News is set for 2:30 p.m. Strangely, considerint the buyout period is SUPPOSED to end at 5:30 p.m., the Universal Desk and News Art are scheduled for meetings at 5:30 and 6 p.m. respectively. People set for the later meetings were told that they were welcome to attend earlier meetings of other departments.

Draw your own conclusions about management's motivation and timing.

Informed sources say a position-by-position flow chart of the newsroom has been drafted. Mr. Sunbeam is not advised how set-in-stone this chart is or whether it is suitable for display to the staff. One might be able to learn numbers of editors, reporters, etc. at the dept. meetings.

Multiple sources in Local News say they have heard that eight editors in that department may be "re-purposed" after the buyout. Mr. Sunbeam does not have names or position titles and would not post them if he did out of individual privacy considerations. But it's a decent bet that the people most likely to be moved have few reporters or column inches to call their own.

Will repositioned people be required to apply for new jobs or just be moved? There are indictations of the latter. But these are questions without official answers at this point.