(The Bay City Beacon) A local news writers union is accusing owners of Digital First Media, a news conglomerate which owns newspapers throughout California and beyond, of foul play, including mass layoffs in Pulitzer-winning newsrooms.
Last week, Bay Area news union Pacific Media Workers Guild released a statement blaming a series of mass layoffs at the East Bay Times and the San Jose-based Mercury News on the reckless financial behavior of Alden Global Capital, owner of news conglomerate Digital First Media. Members of the Bay Area News Group newsroom, hailing from both the East Bay Times and the Mercury News, held an event last Thursday outside the Oakland offices of the East Bay Times to publicly denounce the behavior of their corporate owner. The action, spurred by the union of staff writers and freelancers at several Bay Area publications, is the first public protest by a Pulitzer Prize winning team against their employer.
