Yesterday, the people who usually print the news were making news of their own.
About 100 demonstrators representing local newspapers and unions called for the New York Times Company to stop outsourcing and eliminating jobs in front of The Boston Globe’s main location on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester.
In the past few years, The New York Times Company has been making widespread administrative cuts, including some in various newsroom bureaus, to save money.
Protesters said the cuts made by the Times Company, which owns the Globe, have eliminated 120 local advertising and circulation jobs from the company. The Boston Newspaper Guild, joined by representatives from other area newspapers, including South Boston’s The Patriot Ledger, said the cuts indicate the Times Company is ignoring the needs of the local community.
“[The Times Company] preaches ethics,” said guild president Dan Totten. “They should be ashamed of themselves.”
Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Bob Haynes denounced the recent layoffs and said future employee cuts could cripple the Globe.
“People in the community made this newspaper,” he said. “It was built on the sweat and intelligence of the people who put it together.”
Many protesters held picket signs reading “Stop corporate greed” and “It’s The Boston Globe – not the Bombay Globe.”
State Sen. Jarrett Barrios (D-Boston) told The Daily Free Press rallies like yesterday’s can be effective in reaching top management and policymakers if the public notices the efforts.
Leaning on a “Boston, not Bombay” picket sign, he said the Times Company will take notice of the protests if readership and subscriptions suffer.
“It is important in any city to have a newspaper that can cover that city,” Barrios said. “If the Globe loses its local touch, Boston will lose out.”
Totten said he hopes the community will notice the protest. The guild also has plans to rally at upcoming Globe-sponsored events in the near future, including flower and travel shows.