McClatchy cuts 90 journalists

The company laid off more than 90 unionized journalists across 17 publications on September 10. The union said cuts represented about 30% of the McClatchy workforce it represents.

Fort Worth loses coverage

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram lost reporters covering suburban development, school boards, government contracts, service journalism and sports.

Entire beats disappear

The Charlotte Observer lost its only two investigative reporters. The Idaho Statesman lost 10 of 18 journalists. El Nuevo Herald's entire writing staff was eliminated.

“We are waist-deep in the quicksand and we are still sinking.”

AI meets shrinking newsrooms

Publishers are experimenting with AI to turn existing reporting into more material faster. The question is whether news supply can expand while discovery capacity contracts.

Washington Post cuts deep

The Washington Post announced layoffs affecting roughly one-third of its staff in February 2026, with cuts reaching sports, local and international coverage.

Los Angeles Times shrinks

The LA Times cut 115 newsroom positions in January 2024, followed by layoffs affecting 14 union members in May 2025.

Even wire services restructure

AP offered buyouts to more than 120 represented employees in April 2026 as it shifted toward visual journalism. Big newspaper companies now account for just 10% of its revenue.

Three-quarters of jobs gone

Northwestern University found the newspaper industry lost more than three-quarters of its jobs since 2005. Nearly 40% of local U.S. newspapers had disappeared.

50 million in news deserts

Some 50 million Americans lived in counties with limited or no local news access. A functioning website doesn't reveal how many meetings go uncovered.

Dallas outsources editing

The Dallas News Guild said Hearst's outsourcing plans would affect 26 members at The Dallas Morning News, including its copy desk and print production operations.

Copy editing catches errors

Copy editing means catching misleading headlines, unsupported assertions or discrepancies between quotations and sources. Moving that work doesn't automatically make it worse, but quality matters.

Advertising revenue collapsed

U.S. newspaper advertising revenue fell from approximately $49.4 billion in 2005 to an estimated $9.8 billion in 2022, according to Pew Research Center.

Subscriber interest drives cuts

McClatchy's internal memo said consumer revenue had declined 41% while local news expenses remained flat. Management said it cannot invest where subscriber interest doesn't support it.

“We cannot continue investing where subscriber interest does not support the investment.”

AI search reduces clicks

Pew found users clicked a traditional search result in 8% of visits to Google pages with AI summaries, versus 15% without them. Links inside summaries received clicks in just 1% of visits.

McClatchy experiments with AI

Columbia Journalism Review documented disputes over AI repackaging reporters' work, including summaries and listicles that journalists said sometimes introduced errors.

Repetition isn't verification

One outlet publishes an allegation, a second summarizes it, a third cites the second, an AI combines all three. A reader sees several sources when the evidence is still one allegation.

AI search tools make mistakes

Columbia's Tow Center tested eight AI search tools with 1,600 queries. More than 60% of responses were incorrect. Researchers also found fabricated links and citations.

Dallas Express grows differently

The Dallas Express operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. CEO Chris Putnam reported more than 200% audience growth and more than 250,000 daily newsletter recipients in 2025.

Original reporting still matters

DX reporter Carlos Turcios examined Rep. Kay Granger's prolonged absence by checking her voting record, calling her offices and visiting her locked district office. Work that couldn't be done by rewriting headlines.

The real test ahead

The test of the next newsroom will be how much it can discover, verify and explain, not merely how much it can publish. After the layoffs, the meetings continue and contracts get signed.