I distributed the following memo to the Tampa Creative Loafing staff this afternoon.
In the face of declining print revenues and an according shift of resources to web-first production, Creative Loafing is restructuring its editorial staff. Unfortunately, these adjustments have made it necessary to eliminate the position of senior editor held by CL veteran Eric Snider.
There is no question that CL will be a different place without Eric. He has made a major contribution to the company as a writer and editor, and his style, his street smarts, his charismatic presence and journalistic expertise have added immeasurably to CL in print, online, and in our day-to-day lives.
We will miss having Eric as part of the staff, both as a journalist and a friend. He will continue at CL full-time through the end of this week; after that, we hope to continue working with him on individual projects.
Sharry Smith, Publisher
David Warner, Editor
Nothing much else to say except that the recession sucks, that this was an extremely painful decision, and that it brings to four the number of layoffs we have had to make this year from an already small edit staff. And yet, in spite of everything, I'm still optimistic about the future of this company.
But Eric will be missed.
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2009.