Layoffs coming to The Sentinel

In the 2010 strategic plan for The Sentinel in Hanford, Calif., publisher Manuel Collazo says positions will be cut and the Saturday and Sunday editions will be combined. Production will be moved to Selma, Calif., and newsroom and advertising resources will be "realigned" and reorganized.

The bullet points from the plan, which was released Aug. 5, include:

• Moving the Hanford production department to the Selma plant; creating a unified production facility and enabling the expansion of our commercial print business
• Aligning our home delivery and single copy resources to support a more efficient distribution system
• Reorganizing our newsroom resources for the quick development and deployment of a 24/7 newsroom positioned to drive critical content for our online audiences
• Product changes that drive target print audiences and support a more profitable advertising business model
• Elimination of the Lemoore Advance and creation of a twice a week "Lemoore Edition" of the Sentinel
  
• Development of an Entertainment product, in print and online
• Consolidation of our Saturday & Sunday Sentinel editions and development of a new Saturday weekend edition
• Realigning advertising sales resource to better focus on key areas of growth: local retail, secondary markets and online advertising
• Unifying the Sentinel and Weeklies' advertising departments under central advertising leadership
• Reinvesting in marketing -- focusing on key initiatives to drive advertising revenues, audience promotion and deepen our connection with the communities we serve

Read Callazo's memo. (PDF)

If layoffs are already planned at one paper, I have to wonder if similar announcements will soon be made at other Lee papers.

(Via e-mail)