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As social media networks filled with posts from journalists “deeply saddened” to reveal they were part of McClatchy’s latest round of “gutting” layoffs this week, newspaper staffers and the unions that represent them highlighted “how local coverage will suffer” because over 90 workers were fired by the hedge fund-controlled publisher.

“I’m part of this bloodbath. After dodging layoffs for my entire 19-year career, I finally caught a stray as the Idaho Statesman gutted 60% of its staff,” said sports writer Michael Lycklama, noting his union membership and six-months severance package.

“My heart goes out to my coworkers who have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into Idaho,” he wrote. “We’ve done everything asked of us, and more. Yet when corporate plans fail, McClatchy executives run and hide while our workers and this community suffer all the consequences.”

“These layoffs will create holes in our community and leave it poorer,” he stressed. “There are now drastically fewer eyes watching your elected officials. Fewer reporters uncovering shady businesses. And fewer journalists to highlight and celebrate our state’s unsung heroes.”

With at least 90 workers let go across 17 McClatchy publications, the NewsGuild-CWA similarly warned Friday that “the departure of these talented reporters, visual journalists, and writers will immediately leave gaping holes in local coverage for dozens of communities across the United States.”

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At least seven reporters were fired from four newsrooms in Washington state: The Bellingham Herald, The News Tribune, The Olympian, and Tri-City Herald. The NewsGuild noted that “Tacoma will no longer have even a single dedicated journalist tracking city hall, Pierce County government, or local schools,” while “the region near the Canadian border lost an environmental watchdog, and the Hispanic community can no longer turn to a Spanish-speaking reporter in Eastern Washington.”

Today, I was one of many laid off by McClatchy. I am deeply grateful to @IdahoStatesman for being the first newsroom I got to call home and the reporters and editors I learned so much from.I’ll be looking for new opportunities to continue my work as a journalist. https://t.co/VXlxLtQmqm— Shannon Tyler (@shannonmtyler) September 10, 2026

Today, I was one of many laid off by McClatchy. I am deeply grateful to @IdahoStatesman for being the first newsroom I got to call home and the reporters and editors I learned so much from.I’ll be looking for new opportunities to continue my work as a journalist. https://t.co/VXlxLtQmqm

The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, a local representing reporters in Washington and Idaho, highlighted that “these are journalists who investigated local hospitals, served as watchdogs over state and local government, showed up at every high school game, jumped in to cover breaking news like wildfires, covered news in overlooked communities, and monitored development in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.”

“One of these papers will no longer have a dedicated reporter covering city hall.........

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