Gannett Pares Collective News Staff of 3 NJ Dailies by Half

Image via WikipediaRoughly half of the combined 100 newsroom staffers at three of  Gannett Co.'s New Jersey dailies--Courier News, Daily Record and Home News Tribune--are getting pink-slipped, according to a memo leaked to the Gannett Blog and reported by AOL's Chatham Patch.

Declining circulation and shrinking advertising are fueling the layoffs and restructuring at the dailies, which last underwent layoffs and a major shake-up in 2009 that included moving all copy editing and design functions to the Neptune, N.J.-based Asbury Park Press. The Parsippany-based Daily Record serves Morris County; the Courier News readership is in Somerset County; and the Home News Tribune covers Middlesex County.

By total circulation, Gannett is the nation's largest newspaper publisher. This grim news hits hard because the dedicated staff of "TUOL" is fronted by a New Jersey native,  so it will take a while to fuhgeddabowdit.