The San Antonio Express-News announced Thursday that in 2021, it will move one block away and increase staff by 10%, or 10 positions.
“During such unprecedented times when much of the industry is under pressure, we are proud to continue supporting our employees, expanding newsrooms with cutting-edge facilities and adding staff,” said Hearst Newspapers President Jeff Johnson in a press release.
Starting in January, the Express-News will move printing to the Houston Chronicle, also owned by Hearst. A press release says, “there will be no involuntary separations with this change.” A story from the Express-News notes that 36 people from print production took recent voluntary buyouts.
National and local media have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. While Hearst publications haven’t had waves of furloughs, layoffs or closures, last month, Hearst’s Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle offered voluntary buyouts. Madison Iszler reported for the News-Express that 62 people took buyouts from that newsroom.
Across the Express-News organization, 62 employees recently took voluntary buyouts, including 11 newsroom staffers and 36 print production workers, Medici said. They will leave the newspaper between late November and late January.
Currently, the Express-News newsroom is located at 301 Avenue E. That building is up for sale. The newsroom will move to the San Antonio Light building (pictured above) in the first quarter of next year. The San Antonio Light started as the city’s evening paper and closed in 1993, according to the University of North Texas. The building has been recently refurbished.
“San Antonians value the Express-News as an independent news source, and record audience numbers are a testament to their confidence in our reporting,” said publisher Mark Medici in a press release. “We are proud to enter this next phase of growth in a building with such significance to Hearst’s history. This announcement solidifies a bright future for the Express-News.”
