Amid industry cuts, Ventura County Star releases 7

Newspaper payrolls continue to get clipped, latest being the daily Ventura County (Calif.) Star.

The Star, an E.W. Scripps Co. publication, announced yesterday that it is cutting seven jobs, marking the first time the newspaper has laid off employees “as it struggles with a difficult economy and shrinking ad revenue,” notes Grumpy Editor.

This continues a trend tallied Monday by AdAge Data Center research.  It reported one in four U.S. newspaper jobs has disappeared since employment in that category peaked 18 years ago.  “Newspapers, saddled with heavy costs of printing and distribution, last year accounted for 38 percent of media jobs, down from 50 percent in 1990,” it added after analyzing Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Besides The Star, Scripps publishes newspapers in 18 markets including Rocky Mountain News, Denver; Commercial Appeal, Memphis, and Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel.  Scripps also owns broadcast stations, Scripps Howard News Service, television networks and United Media.

Star editorial staff was not affected by the cuts that involved two positions in operations and production, four in circulation and one in accounting.

Publisher George H. Cogswell III informed readers that Star advertising was down about 15 percent last year compared with 2006.

Looking ahead, Cogswell said the newspaper is creating target market opportunities with niche publications in print and online that will start to launch in the coming months and bring in new revenue.