Lee Newspapers Fires Editor for Stating the Obvious
When even Warren Buffett doesn't have the patience to see whether an investment will pan out, you know there's trouble. And trouble is what has predictably emerged since Buffett sold his newspaper holdings to Lee Enterprises in March for $140 million.
Like every newspaper chain, Lee has engaged in an unhealthy amount of layoffs, furloughs and other rapacious cost-cutting. Some of that can be attributed to the pandemic, but mostly to blame is the slide in circulation and advertising due to reader attrition, advertisers drifting online and not investing in a digital product worth paying for.
This crisis was ably encapsulated by Ashley Spinks (photo from WTVF), the managing editor of the weekly Floyd Press in Virginia, in an excellent piece from Mallory Noe-Payne at NPR affiliate WVTF. The title of managing editor is misleading, given that Spinks was the sole editorial employee at the paper. "You don't always have the capacity to do follow-up interviews, to add context and color to stories," Spinks told the station. "But even more important than that, what are you not reporting on?"
A good question, and one Spinks will not have an opportunity to answer, at least as managing editor of the Floyd Press. After this story aired, she was fired by Lee for doing the interview.
An update: I got fired today for doing this interview. Less than 24 hours before the Press goes to print. The paper is not finished, don’t know how it will be. On a personal level: it’s 3 days before my wedding, which my superiors knew. They couldn’t even wait for next week. 1/x https://t.co/CdPeDfbKpN
— Ashley Spinks (@AshleyinFloyd) October 13, 2020
Of course, the thin-skinned suits at Lee are cretins for doing this. But the fact that newsrooms have been reduced to almost nothing is, sadly, not news. Check out this dispatch from Mountain Home magazine about Jeff Murray, the last man sitting in the Elmira Star-Gazette newsroom, and a wondrous story in The New York Times about Evan Brandt, the only reporter covering Pottstown, PA, for the once-mighty Pottstown Mercury.
Ashley Spinks's next chapter is still evolving. But it's already a little greener.
Hello, everyone! Probably my last update for the night. I’m floored and humbled by all the support—for me, but also, I know, for the venture of small town journalism in general. I’ve gained 900 followers and now have more in my Venmo than I make in *three months* from Lee. 1/x
— Ashley Spinks (@AshleyinFloyd) October 14, 2020
You would hope another newspaper in Virginia would admire the spunk and tenacity of a journalist like Spinks and try to grab her. Sadly, though, most other newspapers in the commonwealth are also trying to stay one step ahead of oblivion. It also doesn't help that the largest papers in Virginia also happen to be owned by Lee Enterprises.
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