Layoffs Hit Pittsburgh, PA Trib

Trib Total Media in Pittsburgh/Greensburg PA will lay off 153 full- and part-time employees as part of a sweeping restructuring of the media company, Trib President Jennifer Bertetto said today.

“We needed to take a close look at our bottom line in the midst of an evolving newspaper industry,” Bertetto said.

The major factor behind the restructuring, she said, was the need to align the company's advertising and news operations to “the rapidly evolving digital landscape that has drastically altered how readers get their news.”

The restructuring includes the creation of a new company, 535 Media, which will encompass the Trib's digital, multimedia and other website operations. That new affiliate has acquired a 40 percent share of NewsMax — “a proven national leader in digital news,” according to Bertetto — and is looking at several joint ventures with NewsMax “that will extend our local and national reach,” she said.

In addition, the Trib is completing a redesign of its website, TribLIVE.com, that will launch in January.

She emphasized that the company is not abandoning its commitment to print.

It will consolidate its three largest dailies in Pittsburgh, Greensburg and Tarentum under the Tribune-Review nameplate as locally zoned editions.

Bertetto said the decision to eliminate 153 jobs among the company's 1,100 employees “was most difficult and painful, but necessary for us to adapt to the changing media landscape. We did everything possible to avoid this.”

Those layoffs take effect beginning Dec. 31.