New York Daily News To Lay Off 50% Of Its Newsroom Staff

(RTTNews) - Daily News, the struggling New York tabloid owned by Tronc, has reportedly laid off half of its newsroom staff on Monday.

In an email send to staff, obtained by CNN, Tronc said "We are fundamentally restructuring the Daily News. We are reducing today the size of the editorial team by approximately 50 percent and re-focusing much of our talent on breaking news — especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility."

The paper had about 85 newsroom employees prior to the cuts, according to the New York Post. The human resources would notify those affected by lay offs by day's end.

The newspaper now plans to focus its efforts more on digital news, as revenues and circulation of the print edition has been sliding for years.

"Since the year began, we've worked hard to transform the New York Daily News into a truly digitally-focused enterprise - one that creates meaningful journalism, delivers it more quickly and more frequently, and develops new approaches to engage our readers," an email sent to staff said.

Tronc, the owner of the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other newspapers, had purchased the financially troubled newspaper last summer for a mere $1 and also assumed liabilities and debt.

Tronc also owns the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot and Allentown Morning Call.