The parent company of the New York Daily News announced Wednesday that it would permanently shutter its Lower Manhattan newsroom, at 4 New York Plaza.
The tabloid’s reporters and editors have been working remotely to publish newspapers since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of New York back in March. Tribune Publishing indicated that the arrangement will continue for the foreseeable future.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we do not anticipate having employees that can work remotely coming back into the office for the remainder of the year and into 2021,” said Tribune spokesperson Max Reinsdorf in a statement. “With no clear path forward in terms of returning to work, and as the company evaluates its real estate needs in light of health and economic conditions brought about by the pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the office.
Reinsdorf indicated that Tribune Publishing — which also owns the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and the Orlando Sentinel, among other papers in eight markets nationwide — is currently “evaluating its real estate needs.”
“As we progress through the pandemic and as needs change, we will reconsider our need for physical offices,” he noted. “We will keep employees informed of decisions as they are made.”
The Daily News has suffered through difficult times economic in recent years. Back in 2018, the paper’s parent company, then called Tronc, cut half the editorial staff in a cost-cutting maneuver.
Tronc had purchased the publication nearly a year earlier, in September 2017, from former Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman for the exact sum of $1. As part of the deal, Tronc assumed all of the paper’s debt and financial obligations, including pension liabilities.
The New York Times first reported the Daily News’ newsroom closure.
