Hedge fund-backed McClatchy guts newsrooms

“McClatchy has decided that short-term profits for a hedge fund matter more than the wellbeing of the communities that its newspapers are supposed to serve,” says Pacific Northwest NewsGuild

TACOMA, WA (September 17, 2026) — McClatchy Media has handed down sweeping layoffs in its newsrooms across the United States last week, gutting 17 local newspapers in Washington, Idaho, California, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. In total, the hedge fund-backed media company laid off 30% of it’s unionized workers.

In the Pacific Northwest, McClatchy laid off 33% of its unionized workers at the Idaho Statesman, Tacoma News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, Olympian, and Bellingham Herald, cutting the jobs of seven journalists at Washington papers and 10 at the Idaho Statesman, more than half the staff. The bulk of the layoffs hit the News Tribune; Tacoma will no longer have a journalist covering city of Pierce County government, reports the NewsGuild-CWA, and a journalist twice honored as Washington’s sports reporter of the year was also let go.

In a statement, the Pacific Northwest NewsGuild shared how these cuts are a short-sighted business decision that will be devastating to the local newspapers PNW communities rely on.

Tacoma News Tribune journalists during a one-day strike in May. Photo: Washington NewsGuild

“These severe cuts will hobble these news organizations and leave the public throughout the Northwest less informed about the events and decisions that affect them, and with fewer people holding the powerful to account,” wrote the union, which represents the local laid-off workers. “These are journalists who investigated local hospitals, served as watchdogs over state and local government, showed up at every high school game, jumped in to cover breaking news like wildfires, covered news in overlooked communities, and monitored development in one of the fastest growing regions in the country. One of these papers will no longer have a dedicated reporter covering city hall. Another will no longer have anyone dedicated to covering the state capitol.

“McClatchy has decided that short-term profits for a hedge fund matter more than the wellbeing of the communities that its newspapers are supposed to serve. That is a model that is destined to fail.”

Newsroom workers at these five outlets recently settled new three-year contracts with McClatchy Media after more than a year of negotiations, largely focused on the need to raise low pay and establish AI guardrails. During negotiations, the PNW NewsGuild noted that more than 75% of McClatchy journalists in Idaho and Washington made less than United Way’s determination of stable household wages.

With low pay and a high cost of living, many of the 17 journalists suddenly losing their livelihoods are facing uncertainty in how they’ll pay their bills. The Washington and Idaho NewsGuilds are raising funds to support laid-off workers. Donations can be made online to two funds in support of Idaho Statesmen journalists and Washington-based journalists.