Washington (Hard) Times

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The Washington Times, founded in 1982 by the Unification Church, shortly expects to layoff at least 40 percent of its 370-member staff, de-emphasize newstand sales, and become largely a free distributed newspaper by early next year.

Last month, the Church, which is led by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, ousted the Times' executive leadership (see "TUOL" post 11/9/09). At the same time that the daily, which reportedly has lost $2 billion since its inception, cuts back in response to the economic recession that is strangling the newspaper industry, the Times is shoring up its Web site, TheConservatives.com, and will continue to back its syndicated radio program that reaches 70 markets. According to Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, the Times' circulation is roughly 85,000.

The announcement is expected to incite conservatives in the nation's capital to "howl at the Moon."