The Journal News Lays Off Five

HARRISON, NY — The Journal News has laid off two of its best-known local journalists, columnist Phil Reisman and sportswriter Rick Carpiniello, as part of the Gannett Company's latest newsroom shrinkage.

The company cut 2 percent of its workforce this week, a cost-cutting move ahead of both its third-quarter earnings report and its bid to buy Tronc, the former Tribune Publishing’s nine newspapers, according to politico.com.

Five people were laid off in the lohud.com newsroom, including longtime members Carpiniello and Reisman.

In part of his email to employees, Gannett CEO Bob Dickey said this, according to politico.com:

We will all feel the loss of great colleagues. Each and every one of you has my deep gratitude for your many contributions to the success of our company. Actions like these are difficult, but I remain steadfastly committed to reinvesting in our employees and the capabilities required to sustain and grow our company so that we may continue to serve our customers with excellence.
Over the next 18 months, we will continue to build our scale and invest in important digital capabilities and experiences – such as critical e-commerce infrastructure and significant upgrades to our digital content platforms.

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