10 Plain Dealer reporters and photographers ask to be laid off

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Just days after layoffs at The Cleveland Plain Dealer 10 reporters and photographers asked to be laid off.

“Today, 10 of our reporters and photographers made the decision to voluntarily ask to be laid off. This comes a week after we regretfully parted ways with some talented journalists. These departures are emblematic of a larger challenge our industry is facing,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer Editor Tim Warsinskey wrote in a statement.

Warsinskey said the departure was difficult to watch as friends and colleagues prepare to leave the newsroom.

"That was true last week and it’s true today. However, the individuals leaving today made personal decisions to voluntarily leave The Plain Dealer. I respect them and their decisions,” Warsinskey said.

Warsinskey wanted to assure the readers, subscribers and advertisers that some important things remain unchanged at The Plain Dealer.

“All of this continues thanks to our long-standing practice of publishing stories produced by local reporters from our sister company, cleveland.com, which is the dominant digital news source in Ohio. A large percentage of the journalism in The Plain Dealer every day since 2013 has been produced by cleveland.com reporters, photographers and editors, including those covering Cleveland City Hall, Cuyahoga County, the statehouse, the justice system, public safety, sports, food, arts and entertainment. This continuing relationship will enable The Plain Dealer’s ability to continue to bring you the news you need even during this time of transition.”

Warsinskey said that the combined newsrooms still have nearly 70 journalists, six of whom are at cleveland.com, covering Greater Cleveland and Ohio.

Despite the shrinking size of the newsroom Warsinskey said the paper will continue to print seven days a week, deliver four days a week, including Sunday, and during this crisis, and make access to our e-edition free so we can help keep our community informed.

Warsinskey said The Plain Dealer is in the process of reevaluating our plans for the newsroom and developing a new path forward.

He promised to share those plans with the public soon.

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