Latest Death Spiral for Atlanta Media

The best time to announce layoffs and a wholesale business change to your decimated team? Two days after Christmas, duh.

Creative Loafing‘s top brass decided today is the time to “finally say goodbye to an era that is likely gone” announcing “reduced roles” for three editorial positions and four layoffs on the sales side of things. 

Everything that can be said about the media’s decline has been said. But CL has provided a unique and excellent viewpoint covering Atlanta and state politics. Over the last decade that coverage continued to shrink and it remains to be seen if it will even continue. There’s a host of elected officials at the Capitol and City Hall who will now sleep a lot easier.

From the CL statement:

Creative Loafing has returned to its roots working with a full complement of freelance writers and columnists, while renewing its commitment to Atlanta’s many music scenes and expanding its pool of contributors. “Our social media channels, website and monthly newspaper each demand a lot of care that is best done by critics and scene watchers nestled deep in our community. We’ve had a nice run with a staff driven model and needed to finally say goodbye to an era that is likely gone”, says Ben Eason, CL’s CEO.

As part of the new CL, the publication(?) will unveil a new website in January “showcasing the depth of coverage CL has been known for and allowing broader community participation in events and other key community information.”

Whatever that means…