AJC to outsource copy editing, design to sister papers

• Joeff Davis

This afternoon, AJC publisher Michael Joseph announced to his staff another in a long series of restructurings, but this times the jobs are not necessarily going away, they’re moving to other cities.

Joseph didn’t release details, saying the company had yet to figure out exactly which jobs are going where, but he laid out a broad plan to consolidate copy editing, design and other functions between Cox’s four remaining dailies, the AJC, the Austin American-Statesman, the Dayton Daily News and the Palm Beach Post. It’s estimated that about 30 positions in Atlanta — um, I mean Dunwoody — will be affected, either moved to other cities or eliminated. None of the changes appear to affect reporters or other editors.

Consolidation, aka “internal outsourcing,” has become a fairly common cost-cutting measure among media companies with several papers, allowing functions to be centralized under one roof. In this case, the Cox Media Group has decided to centralize copy editing and page design in Dayton and West Palm Beach — meaning if you’re a copy editor or designer at the AJC or the Statesman, you’ll likely have to find another job unless you’re willing to move.

In the case of staff illustrators, Joseph’s email suggests that only those now working in Austin and West Palm Beach will be retained, but the wording’s a little unclear. There are other changes listed that affect marketing and ad production, but the only thing likely to impact readers is that customer service — the people you call when your paper hasn’t been delivered — will be based in Atlanta.