The Philadelphia Inquirer is sending 17 percent of its newsroom staff packing today.
The New York Times has some reactions from staffers.
“The guillotine has finally fallen,” said Dawn Fallik, 36, a medical reporter for The Inquirer who has been at the paper for four years and will be laid off. “In a way, it’s kind of a relief. I loved being a reporter, and I hope to continue writing,” Ms. Fallik said, “but I’m open to something completely different.”
Jeff Shields, a reporter who covers gambling said, “Newspapers have not shown a whole lot of economic promise, so for me this is a chance to look around and maybe become part of a more dynamic business model. This could be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Should Fallik and Shields be reading about themselves in the Times today, they needn’t look far, for there’s an article in the Technology pages about Google’s quest for exceptional people.
Google has always wanted to hire people with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs. Now, like an Ivy League school, it is starting to look for more well-rounded candidates, like those who have published books or started their own clubs.
Google’s growth is staggering even by Silicon Valley standards. It is constantly leasing new buildings for its overflowing campus here and opening offices around the world.
Google has doubled the number of employees in each of the last three years. Even though the company now has about 10,000 employees, Mr. Bock says he sees no reason the company will not double again in size this year. That would increase the number of hires to about 200 a week.
To summarize, laid off journalists with a book to their credit might benefit greatly by sending a copy to the recruiters at Google.
