Roberto Carrillo has long been a reporter for El Diario de El Paso. Yesterday he informed me that on April 25 he and the weekend editor Aracely Lazcano were laid off by Adrian Rodriguez, an administrator.
Founded in 2005, the newspaper began with four editors and eight reporters.
According to Carrillo, with the two recent layoffs, Armando Velez is the only full-time editor left and Jaime Torres and Ivanna Leos are the only two remaining full-time reporters for a daily edition that has shrunk to only six pages.
We have all watched the El Paso Times shed editors, reporters and staff over the last ten years, to the point that local stories are now handled by a small handful of journalists.
Meanwhile, there are only a few serious television newscasts left (that focus on topics other than the weather, crime, traffic, and cute poodles).
As we all know, El Pasoans, especially the young, are increasingly turning to internet sources for their news. El Paso Matters has emerged as the premier online news outlet and has hired key veteran reporters from the print media. In addition, there are several political blogs and social media pages that have a regular following.
Yet it is sad to see El Diario implode in this way and I hope that the newspaper, which serves a very significant Spanish-speaking demographic, will survive into the future.