It's tense times at the Sun-Sentinel. A commenter posted below that the next round of layoffs at there will be announced May 19.
I hit up a newspaper source who told me Sentinel editor Earl Maucker told the staff there are going to be 30 layoffs in the newsroom (after comments below, I'm going to leave it at that).
Apparently taking a cue from the more humane Miami Herald, this time the casualties won't be frog-marched out the door by security. They'll be notified on the Tuesday and given the opportunity to work the rest of the week with pay. Small consolation, but a consolation nonetheless.
It gets more frightful. At the same time, the three not-as-big dailies keep searching for ways to consolidate resources. One of the ways, according to a source, is to share beat writers in sports. The sports editors at the Herald, Sentinel, and Post have met to discuss this idea and figure out how it might be executed.
The sports editors hate the idea, but this is coming from up high. If it happens, it will start with the smaller beats, like outdoor writing. I would say golf, but after Randy Mell's departure to the Golf Channel, there aren't any local golf writers left. There's a possibility it could happen with Panthers coverage and, at least to some degree, with the Marlins and Heat. The Dolphins beat writers -- whose coverage provides a huge percentage of the newspapers' web hits -- are most likely safe.
That said, the writers in the sports departments aren't feeling any safety at all. Just like everybody else.
