The Denver Post announced earlier this month it plans to cut 30 newsroom jobs, or 30 percent of its news staff. The cuts will include both managers and union-based employees, The Post said, and the first 25 cuts will come by April 9. The remaining positions will be cut by July 1. Thus far, it is not clear which positions will be eliminated, and employees will have one week to apply for a severance package.

‘These job losses are painful, and we know meaningful work will not get done because talented journalists have left the organization,’ said editor Lee Ann Colacioppo in a memo to staff. ‘I’m sure some commenters will cheer what they believe is the eventual demise of the mainstream media, but there is nothing to celebrate when a city has fewer journalists working in it.’

‘This is dreadfully stressful, I know,’ Colacioppo added. ‘I also know this: The Denver Post will emerge on the other side still doing important work that impacts the lives of our readers – stories that inform them, move them, surprise them and entertain them. We will continue our aggressive, groundbreaking efforts to find ways to reach and connect with those readers.’

Several readers have written to The Post to express their concerns about the job cuts. Here’s an excerpt from subscriber Greg Sorensen of Denver, published March 24:

‘The real value of The Post is in its coverage of local news in a responsible, objective and thorough manner. Since the demise of the Rocky Mountain News, this is more important than ever. Do the owners of the paper not understand the value of an independent free press that can cover local stories that are important to your local readers however they read your paper? It cannot be all about profit,’ Sorensen wrote.

In another letter, reader Staci Stech of Highlands Ranch wrote, ‘Cutting 30 positions in the newsroom? The public has sold ourselves out for the hopes of free news on the internet. Journalists are our defense against the unchecked power of government and industry. With The Denver Post being owned by a hedge fund, the voice of the people is being killed off. We need journalists, relentless and questioning. They are our only defense. We should all be sickened and frightened at the direction newspapers are going. We need journalists and newspapers for survival.’

As part of the company’s reorganization, The Denver Post put up a paywall in mid-January, and the majority of the newsroom moved out of its downtown offices to be housed at their printing facility in nearby Adams County.

‘For those who don’t have any kind of subscription already, the cost will be $11.99 a month, which is way, way, way less than you’d pay to support even the mildest of coffee habits,’ said Chuck Plunkett, editorial-pages editor in a January 12 column. ‘It takes a lot of money to run a newsroom. If you read a lot of news, the quality of that news depends upon your support. It ought to be a given: a condition of the social contract.’

According to Media Post, The Denver Post lost 10 employees last December, following previously deep cuts to staff in 2015 and 2016. Also, in January, The Post’s CEO and publisher Mac Tully announced he would leave the company.

‘I’m not ready for retirement yet, but after 40 years in the industry, I’m ready for something a little stressful,’ Tully said in a memo to staff.

Insider Take:

Sadly, this news is not unexpected in a constantly evolving media landscape. Newspaper owners and investors demand a return on their investment, which often leads to reorganizations and job cuts. The Denver Post has been making changes across the board, and they still aren’t enough. Some readers blame the newspaper’s “liberal bias,” while others understand the economic necessity of such change, even if they hate it. Perhaps The Denver Post didn’t adapt quickly enough. Regardless of how or why it happened, The Post needs to make drastic changes in how it does business or there won’t be enough staff – journalists or operations – left to keep the newspaper going.