Journalism really is in the dumps. The Washington Post‘s Jacqueline Trescott is reporting that Washington DC’s Newseum is letting go 10% of its staff. (This comes via Jim Romenesko.)
Writes Ms. Trescott:
Museum administrators offered voluntary buyouts and 19 people accepted. In addition, two officers retired—including Jack Hurley, the senior vice president of broadcasting—and four vacant positions won’t be filled, the Newseum said.
In May, The New York Times‘ Katharine Q. Seelye called the $435 million Newseum possibly "one of the world’s most expensive museums now under construction."
Ms. Trescott points out that it might not be the sorry state of the journalism business that’s hurting the Newseum, but rather banking:
The Newseum is intertwined with some of the major players in the Wall Street downturn. Goldman Sachs handles the Newseum’s endowment, and the broker for its construction bonds was Lehman Brothers.
In April, Media Mob quoted an eyewitness at the museum’s opening, who said, "there’s a line along Pennsylvania Avenue "three New York blocks long. It’s sick.”
Admission that day was free.