For the US news industry, a tough summer draws to a close with McClatchy chain’s cuts, tell me about this news in (https://apnews.com/article/layoffs-miami-herald-mcclatchy-c27bcd1a875f1b788afe8b49c1f8beaf)
12-09-2026
The Associated Press report details a major wave of layoffs across the McClatchy newspaper chain, marking the end of a particularly turbulent summer for local journalism in the United States.Key details reported in the article include:
- Scope of the Cuts: More than 90 unionized journalists and media workers across 17 publications were laid off. This represents approximately 30% of all McClatchy employees represented by The NewsGuild-CWA. Affected publications include prominent regional dailies such as The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Severe Toll on The Miami Herald: At The Miami Herald, 32 positions were eliminated or frozen (28 layoffs and 4 frozen roles). These cuts wiped out the entire writing staff of its Spanish-language sister paper, El Nuevo Herald. Additionally, the paper lost its dedicated City Hall reporter, all beats covering Broward County, its entire audience engagement team, its sole video producer, and its only female staff photographer. Carol Marbin Miller, deputy investigations editor at the Herald, warned that after years of cuts, the paper was now “slicing out the vital organs.”
- Depleted Government and Accountability Beats: Across other regions, the impact on civic coverage is severe. Four McClatchy newspapers in Washington state lost seven reporters, leaving Tacoma without a dedicated reporter for city hall, county government, or school boards. The Charlotte Observer lost its only two investigative reporters, and The Kansas City Star saw cuts to its government accountability reporting team.
- Company Explanation: An internal memo from Greg Farmer, McClatchy’s executive vice president of local news, explained that despite five years of deliberate investment in local reporting to boost subscriptions, the financial return did not materialize. He cited rapid changes in audience consumption habits, technological disruption, and persistent declines in advertising revenue as forcing a change in business direction.
- Broader Industry Contraction: The article notes that McClatchy’s layoffs are part of a wider, ongoing collapse across the U.S. news business. Other major organizations, including Gannett (USA Today Co.) and The Associated Press itself, implemented job cuts and restructuring over the same summer, deepening concerns from press advocates about the erosion of local government oversight and civic accountability.