Bay Area News Group Cutting Jobs, Streamlining East Bay Papers

The Bay Area News Group on Tuesday announced a "rebranding" of most of its East Bay newspapers, including "a streamlining of its print operations" that includes the closing of its Walnut Creek office, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The Mercury News is the flagship paper of the news group, which also publishes The Oakland Tribune and the Contra Costa Times.

The "streamlining" reportedly involves layoffs of almost 50 editorial employees and dozens of other positions, according to newsroom sources. It will also mean consolidating production into three existing plants in Concord, Hayward and San Jose.

Mac Tully, the San Jose-based president of BANG, said that production efficiencies at those plants "will enable BANG to utilize a smaller facility than the one currently operating in Walnut Creek." 

Tully said existing newspaper titles will continue to be published after the changes take effect on Nov. 2, but will appear under two consolidated mastheads: the Contra Costa Times and the "East Bay Tribune" (which will include the current Oakland Tribune).

The Contra Costa Times, Valley Times, San Ramon Valley Times, Tri-Valley Herald, San Joaquin Herald, and East County Times will now be branded under The Times masthead, while the Oakland Tribune, Alameda Times-Star, Daily Review (Hayward), Argus (Fremont) and West County Times will be rebranded as the East Bay Tribune.

The company reportedly plans to downsize its two largest offices, in Walnut Creek and Oakland, to smaller facilities in the downtowns of both cities. Some staff operations will be moved to other buildings in Pleasanton and Hayward.

"We will continue to be the largest newsgathering and newspaper publisher in the Bay Area," said Tully. "We remain committed to embracing emerging digital technologies to buttress our existing products and services."

The company's weeklies, including the Alameda Journal, will not be impacted by the changes.

The consolidation will include the launching of two new weekly newspapers under the BANG flag — the Valley Journal, serving Alamo, Danville and San Ramon; and the Times-Herald, serving Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and Sunol.

It's just the latest in more than two years of restructuring and layoffs the company has gone through in an attempt to cope with losses in advertising sparked by the recession, lagging circulation and a move in ad dollars to the Internet.

The rebranding will emphasize multimedia content delivery that will "continue to enlighten and entertain" readers while providing new opportunities for advertisers to engage readers, the Mercury News reported.