There's so much bad news in the print media world these days that we just have to roll it all up for you in one convenient post that you can read here, on the internet, where we are responsible for killing print. Today in the Death Of Print Daily: Big layoffs at Rodale and the Seattle Times, the death of Out Traveler, and a tipster describes just how poor the Village Voice is these days:

  • Rodale, the publisher of Men's Health and other fitness-related mags, is laying off 111 employees—10% of its workforce. Most of the cuts will be in "operations, IT, customer service and some publishing departments," with no details given.
  • The Seattle Times is laying off about 130 workers, 10% of its staff. No word on how many in the newsroom. The Seattle Times is a newspaper so, you know, this is just how it goes.
  • Out Traveler, a gay travel mag, has just folded, according to Jossip.
  • Finally, just how bad a shape is the Village Voice in? They've laid off so many people in the past year that I won't take the time to link to all of our layoff posts, but feel free to go back and search for yourself. Anyhow, a tipster tells us that the VV is—direct quote—"on the balls of its ass financially." That's bad! How bad? We hear that expense accounts are essentially a thing of the past. One VV reporter paid out of his own pocket to fly to Ohio and rent a car and a hotel room last week to do a story on the election. Normal after-work events, like a going-away party for an intern at a bar, are being paid out of the editors' own pockets. And, we hear, Voice reporters have been buying their own pens and notebooks because the paper has no extra office supplies. That's bad. If you know more about the finances of the VV or the New Times chain, email us.

Whew. [Pic via Martin Gee]