It is shaping up to be a dark day in newspapers, and it isn’t even ten yet. The New York Times is looking to reduce their newsroom costs by offering buyouts.

“The economic environment has grown more difficult in the second half of the year and I must reduce costs in the newsroom. While Dean, John, Bill, Janet and I are looking at spending on everything from leases to bureau expenses, there is no getting around the hard news that the size of the newsroom staff must be reduced,” executive editor Jill Abramson wrote in a note to the staff. “I hope the needed savings can be achieved through voluntary buyouts but if not, I will be forced to go to layoffs among the excluded staff.  I expect that I will have to reduce the excluded staff by about 30 positions.”

“As we all know, these are financially challenging times. While our digital subscription plan has been successful, the advertising climate remains volatile and we don’t see this changing in the near future,” Publisher Arthur Sulzberger wrote, in an email to staff sent out this morning. “Given this, I have asked Scott, Jill and Andy to identify significant cost savings – including buyouts – throughout The New York Times Media Group.”

Full memos below. Read More