The management at 'PBS NewsHour' said Tuesday a decision was made to close offices in Denver and San Francisco and will lay off many of its employees in order to cut costs, UPI reported. The layoffs at the public television news program are the fist significant staff reductions in nearly 20 years, The New York Times reported. It was reported that 'NewsHour's' producer MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, based in Arlington Virginia will also eliminate several 'non-critical production positions' at its main office.
The cuts will begin in July, news reports said.
"It's a sign of the times," veteran correspondent Spencer Michaels said in San Francisco. "And it's a bad situation because no one else in the country is doing the in-depth television news that we do. Long form journalism is a lost art in television."
The "PBS NewsHour" will rely more on local video freelancers in the future, according to a memo circulated to the staff.
"In addition to leaving several open positions unfilled, in total 10 people were affected," according to "NewsHour" spokesperson Anne Bell. "The changes will take place over several months in the first half of the next fiscal year - which begins July 1. This is unrelated to the current fiscal year finances."
An internal memo said the reorganization to deal with a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the program's budget would include a great reliance on local video freelancers, the Contra Costa Times said.
International Business Times reported PBS employees "not authorized to speak publicly" told the Times earlier this year MacNeil/Lehrer was facing a $7 million shortfall in its first quarter, a fourth of its $28 million budget, news reports added.
