Curtin predicted that business hardships will force him to preside over newsroom job cuts, and the dismantling of sections that were once the pride of the paper.

The Dispatch Printing Co. recently announced a buyout deal for its veteran journalists – 25 job cuts for those at least 55 years old with 15 years of continuous service.

Layoffs are only one part of Curtin’s grim prospects.

First to go should be stock listings, available in real time online. This year, for the first time in memory, the Dispatch didn’t send a reporter to cover the Super Bowl. Curtin also predicted a slimmer Washington bureau, and the decline of the op-ed pages.

“I think you’re going to see us and other metro dailies devote a greater and greater percentage of their news holes to exclusive local content,” he said, “and less and less to content that is freely available on any number of Internet sites.”

Curtin also predicted that newspapers, in an effort to save more costs, will sign agreements to share regional content.

“You’re going to see newspapers within the same state or region look at the possibility of having exchange agreements. There may come a day when we swap Ohio State sports coverage with The Plain Dealer for their coverage of Cleveland sports,” Curtin said. “Those types of arrangements are almost inevitable.”

Will the future for most metropolitan papers be in the slashing of ‘general news’ sections, political commentary and cross-newspaper partnerships?

“Quite frankly, it’s only important to about 10 percent of our audience…the people who really value depth,” Curtin said.

On the other hand, the Dispatch kitchen will open in April, featuring a studio audience and full broadcast capabilities. Dispatch ‘Food’ editor Robin Davis will host a TV program on cooking and nutrition.

Washington is out, food is booming.

“It’s hard to compete with free,” Curtin said.

Source: The Other Paper