MoveOn.org has launched a petition drive to protest job reductions at the Los Angeles Times and three other Tribune Co. newspapers -- cutbacks that the liberal activist group says threaten the papers' ability to deliver "strong watchdog journalism."
MoveOn organizers said Friday, a little more than 24 hours into their Internet campaign, that they had collected 17,125 signatures to protest cuts that this week reduced The Times' newsroom staff by 8%, or 85 positions. The group reported that it had obtained a total of 10,360 signatures objecting to cuts at the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel.
The organization -- known for its opposition to the war in Iraq and its support of liberal Democratic politicians -- plans to expand its protests to encompass other newspapers, in an industry beset by layoffs.
Adam Green, civic communications director for MoveOn.org Civic Action, said it might be difficult to reverse recent cuts, but said the petitions would warn Tribune Co., based in Chicago, against further reductions.
"The key for us is to get people to recognize that the Tribune's business model is at fundamental odds with a good journalism model," he said. "We want to bring more public attention on these cuts and slow the trend, to bring them more in line with a good journalism model."
Executives at The Times and Chicago Tribune -- the two biggest newspapers owned by Tribune Co. -- said they took the group's campaign as a public acknowledgment of the value of their news-gathering operations.
However, they also said they did not expect the petitions to save jobs, and argued that the papers would continue to deliver strong news content.
"I think it's terrific that people care enough about the paper to do whatever they can to make sure that it has the ability to keep doing great stuff," said Times Editor Dean Baquet.
"I think it means that -- at a time when people are putting papers down and questioning how relevant we are -- a bunch of people are saying, 'We think you are very relevant, and keep doing what you are doing,' " he said.
Scott C. Smith, president of Tribune Publishing, said in a statement that the papers would continue their "important journalistic mission."
He also said the company continued "to invest far more than anyone else in our markets to provide the most comprehensive news coverage in our newspapers and on our websites."
