Both senior executive editor Rich Jackson and sports editor Patrick Beane at the Herald-Times newspaper were laid off from their jobs Friday.
Jackson said in an interview his job loss was a part of a mass layoff that happened across the country to Gannett newspapers.
The layoffs from Gannett, which has 261 newspapers in 46 states, took place on May 1, and so far, the reasoning behind it has been unclear, according to Poynter, a non-profit journalism research organization and school.
Jackson was living in a company apartment in the HT building for the 11 months he worked there and is now experiencing homelessness. He started blogging about his situation while he stays in a Motel 6 because he said it is important to have a conversation about how many people are a paycheck away from losing their home.
“I need to make my savings last as long as possible,” Jackson saidin a blog post.
He hopes that when he finds a new job, it is related to communications because he loves being a daily newspaper editor.
“At the end of the day, though, despite being technically homeless, I remain the luckiest under that broad heading,” Jackson said in a blog post Saturday night. “I have connections. I know whom to contact. Or if I don't, I know how to ask questions about getting resources.”
Beane, the sports editor, studied at IU and worked for the HT for 30 years. On Twitter he has asked people to follow the three HT sports reporters to support local journalists and prevent what happened to him from happening to them.
“It's been a great ride and a job I pretty much always loved,” Beane said in a tweet.
