Atlanta newspaper cutting staff by 200

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is cutting its staff by nearly 200 jobs, or about 8 percent of its work force, and eliminating some targeted news sections.

In a news release Wednesday, Publisher John Mellott said the moves are aimed at cutting expenses amid dwindling advertising revenues and steadily increasing fuel and newsprint costs. Mellott said the job cuts will be mainly in the news and advertising departments between August and October through voluntary buyouts and layoffs.

The newspaper will cut 85 positions from its newsroom, 27 of which are vacant, said Journal-Constitution spokeswoman Jennifer Morrow.

"The changes announced today, particularly those involving our employees, are difficult," Mellott wrote in a letter posted on the newspaper's Web site on Wednesday. "However, they are necessary to sustain us in the present and position us for future growth."

The company has a staff of 2,300 people, according to a news release.

The newspaper will begin phasing out its four remaining geographically targeted news sections, including Cobb and Gwinnett counties, distributed in most suburban counties starting in August. Instead, the daily metro and sports sections will be expanded to include coverage from those areas, Mellott said.

Total online and print readership is up 7 percent over last year, but the cost of newsprint has risen 35 percent in that time, Mellott said.

It's the second downsizing in two years at Georgia's largest newspaper. In February 2007, the newspaper announced it was offering contract buyouts and reducing its circulation area. About 40 newsroom employees took those buyout offers, Morrow said.

Last year, the paper also shuttered targeted news sections in south metro Atlanta counties. It cut Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and many parts of Georgia from its circulation territory so that reporters could focus on metro Atlanta.

The Journal-Constitution is owned by Cox Newspapers, a subsidiary of the privately held, Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises Inc. Another company in the Cox chain, Palm Beach Newspapers Inc., which owns The Palm Beach Post, announced last month it was cutting 300 workers, or 22 percent of its workforce, for similar reasons.

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