Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Bay Area News Group Makes Changes to East Bay Papers

The Bay Area News Group announced Tuesday it will consolidate its 11 daily papers in the East Bay under two mastheads and add new sections to them.

The company is making the changes to emphasize its regional approach to news coverage and free up resources to funnel into its digital initiatives. The move to streamline the group's East Bay operations will help to reduce expenses as print advertising revenue continues to be under pressure.

As part of the changes, the Contra Costa Times, San Ramon Valley Times, East County Times, Tri-Valley Herald and San Joaquin Herald will be renamed The Times.

The Oakland Tribune, Alameda Times-Star, Hayward Daily Review, Fremont Argus and West County Times will be renamed the East Bay Tribune.

The company said it would close its Walnut Creek facility and other offices, and that the consolidation would lead to the elimination of 120 jobs, or 8 percent of the group's workforce.

"We're taking these actions to strengthen the company for the future and to offer additional value for readers and advertisers," said Mac Tully, president of Bay Area News Group, or BANG.

The principal owner of BANG is Denver-based MediaNews Group.

The changes take effect Nov. 2, and Tully emphasized they will allow BANG "to add a number of new features to the East Bay papers."

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