Old media momentarily triumphs over new media: Twitter overwhelmed after National Post offers buyout packages to entire newsroom

Somehow, we’re pretty sure this isn’t what the staff at the National Post were hoping for when the new management took over from the Asper family: Ryerson-run Canadian Journalism Foundation-organized site J-Source is reporting that the entire Post newsroom has been offered buyouts, and employees have only until Friday to accept. And, well, that’s about all that’s been reported for sure. This is on the heels of layoffs at other Postmedia papers, including the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald. 

We have to note that just because people have been offered buyouts doesn’t mean that the Post‘s newsroom is dead or dying. The CBC offered a really broad buyout package to its staff last year and then winnowed down the number it would actually pay out. Some are speculating on Twitter that we’re just seeing more of the same here. No one from the Post would comment on the news yet.

Still, we can’t remember a buyout offer this large before. As they say in the print news business: check our Web site later for more details.

• Entire Post newsroom offered buyouts [J-source]

UPDATE: An anonymous source close to the Post, tells us that the buyout e-mail reported on J-Source went out last week and that no one in the newsroom “thought much of it. ” Apparently, similar e-mails went out last year and were not followed by waves of layoffs. “Everyone [at the Post]  assumes maybe a few people might apply, but no one is pressuring,” said the source. “Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing came out of it. Atmosphere is definitely biz as normal and newsroom is treating the sudden excitement as a joke.”