Paxton Lays Off Employees in Paducah
Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:57 pm PAXTON MEDIA GROUP LAYS OFF EMPLOYEES IN PADUCAH
Staff reductions at WPSD Channel 6 and the Paducah Sun hit almost three dozen employees at Paxton Media Group's hometown this week. No firm numbers are available. When contacted, veteran reporter Bill Bartlesman wouldn’t comment on the layoffs, but other sources say they came as a total surprise.
The Paxton Media Group owns a number of newspapers throughout West Kentucky. Distribution has been dropping in all but two of their West Kentucky papers. (See end of this story for a more complete list of their holdings).
Other newspapers in this chain and others across the country are experiencing similar reductions in workforce as advertisers move to other venues. Big papers like the New York and LA Times have also struggled. In Kentucky, both the Courier Journal and Lexington Herald have laid off staff as their bottom lines droop.
Delivery in the Paducah Sun’s media market has become problematic in recent months. Frustrated subscribers in rural areas aren’t getting their papers. One rural resident who had trained his dog to get his paper every morning joked that the dog just looks confused with no Paducah Sun to bring to the house.
Finding carriers in a time of high gas prices has cut delivery. Even rack sales have been affected. Managers have been seen refilling small town newspaper racks.
In addition to the slowing economy, an additional financial pressure may have come from the Paxton Media Group investment in a ten million dollar printing facility in downtown Paducah. Other newspaper chains have been merged or sold off assets when faced with lagging sales. There is no indication what the Paxton family will do as revenues continue to decline in a weakening economy.
One media expert warned that this story will have another chapter to it if the Paxon Media Group has taken out large loans to pay for its phsyical expansion as well as purchasing many small town newspapers. If the advertising keeps falling off and subscribers go somewhere else for their news, for the first time in a generation, the Paxon Media Group will face a very uncertain future. Holdings of the Paxton Media Group
Daily
The Daily Courier (Closing Press and News Rooms in August 2008)[citation needed] - Forest City, North Carolina
Weekly List is incomplete
Other
WPSD - Paducah, Kentucky
Sun Publishing[1] - Paducah, Kentucky
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