NWI Times lays off 12

The Times of Northwest Indiana laid off 12 people today.

• Business editor Bill Bero
• Sports columnist John O'Malley
• Society columnist Adele Mackanos
• Community reporter Barb Martin
• Web designer Bobby Koskinas
• 2 niche products employees
• 5 advertising employees

Another 15 open positions will not be filled. Rumor is, the severance package will be the same as at the Journal Star -- one week's pay for each year there. The paper will also cut sections of the paper, cut back on zoning

In a story in Saturday's Times (it looks like it wasn't published online?), publisher Bill Masterson Jr. said paper is a healthy business -- the "fastest-growing English-language daily newspaper in the United States." Of course, he also said Lee's third-quarter print ad revenue dropped 8.2 percent; CNN says it was 10.1 percent.