'Tis the season of major local media shakeups! This morning, Crosscut editor-in-chief Greg Hanscom announced that his nonprofit online publication will be joining with public television station KCTS 9 "under the umbrella of a larger, multi-platform nonprofit that will be called Cascade Public Media."
Hanscom also promised that the merger will not precipitate layoffs. (An apparent reference to the likely layoffs involved in the proposed KUOW / KPLU acquisition*.)
"There will be no layoffs," the editor-in-chief wrote in a statement sent to media outlets today. "In fact, the merger allows us to bring several part-time staffers up to full-time and offer everyone substantially improved benefits. And weâre hopeful that in the near future, weâll have a larger freelance budget as well."
It's worth pointing out, though, that perhaps Hanscom meant no "more" layoffs. In April, KCTS 9 gutted its production department, laying off 11 employeesâincluding two award-winning staffers who had worked at the station for four decadesâunder a vision to transition from a broadcast to a digital-first newsroom.
@Ansel @Crosscut There will be no layoffs, and in fact in this, some employees will be going from part- to full-time
https://t.co/z0ABbDslwM
â KCTS 9 (@KCTS9) December 2, 2015
@brrian @Ansel On TV & at https://t.co/lFSweJgeHC we do many local stories, and @Crosscut will help us do more! e.g. https://t.co/iPgqzZG56Q
â KCTS 9 (@KCTS9) December 2, 2015
The merger announcement also coincided with KCTS's acquisition of a website called What's Good 206 (wha?), a local online magazine created by and targeting millennials. Its website says it was created in 2011.
Read more about the merger here.
*The original version of this post referred to the KUOW/KPLU acquisition as a merger. We regret the error.