Southern California Public Radio Cuts 12% Of Staff

Southern California Public Radio, which runs local station LAist (formerly known as KPCC), said Tuesday that it would cut staff by more than 10% because of a revenue shortfall, reports The L-A Times.

In a note to employees, President and Chief Executive Herb Scannell announced the elimination of 21 positions as part of a restructuring. Scannell said the cuts are also part of an effort to accelerate growth in digital media.

Scannell described the retrenchment as an effort to better deliver on SCPR’s “cross-platform, public service mission.” SCPR owns and operates the LAist website, podcast producer LAist Studios as well as its local radio station that broadcasts at 89.3 FM.

The move was intended as a step toward creating “a sustainable business model for an increasingly digital future,” he wrote.

LAist’s report on the layoffs said cutbacks primarily involve administrative staff, producers and technicians. The shortfall had much to do with softness in the advertising business and a pullback of promotional efforts by Hollywood studios amid the writers’ strike.

LAist’s contraction comes amid a devastating economy for news organizations, which have been forced to cut hundreds of journalists’ jobs.

Last week, the Los Angeles Times announced that it was cutting 74 newsroom positions, also due to a budget gap. (The number of layoffs was reduced to 73 after a team leader volunteered to depart.) On Monday, the New York Times announced that it was cutting 20 jobs from the Athletic, its sports news site, representing 4% of its staff.

In the last year, the Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Vice Media and Insider have laid off journalists. BuzzFeed News and MTV News have shut down. NPR, which supplies programming to LAist, cut 10% of its workforce in February. Spotify has slashed roles from its podcast division.