Thursday, July 9, 2009

Indy Star layoffs again decimate features

The word is trickling in here and there about the mass layoffs being conducted at the Indy Star. Apparently they are again disproportionately affecting the features department.

Here are confirmed names:

Zach Dunkin, travel reporter
John Hawn, features copy desk chief
Channon Seifert, features art director
Chris Jordan, features page designer
Marisol Gouveia, copy editor/page designer
Jacqueline Thomas, senior editor/features
Konrad Marshall, arts reporter

I should note Konrad gave his notice that he was leaving, but is being included as part of these layoffs at his request to spare someone else their job. Very stand-up move, my friend.

My heart goes out to all these folks. If it wasn't apparent already, "soft" news is not something that's valued at the Star. As someone who grew up reading newspapers primarily for the lifestyle and arts coverage, it pains me to think about what these losses will mean for local features reporting. Not to mention the impact on these people's lives.

Once again, it appears management has decided to completely ignore the contract regarding doing layoffs by seniority. But I'll leave that to the Guild to address.

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