New York Times Slashes 50 Positions; Newsroom Spared

Assistant General Counsel George Freeman, a 31-year New York Times veteran, was among those pink-slipped as The Times last week eliminated 50 positions.

In a story broken by media watchdog Jim Romanesko (JimRomanesko.com) and reported by Capitalnewyork.com and elsewhere, the job reductions spared the newsroom but affected personnel in the finance, legal and human resources departments. The Times is in the throes of difficult contract negotiations with the union that represents more than 1,000 Times staffers.