The Daily Voice, a Connecticut-based network of news websites, is shutting down its 11 Central Massachusetts locations, according to several published reports.
According to MassLive.com, representatives from the company joined the area staff yesterday for its weekly editorial meeting and said the staff was being let go for financial reasons.
In addition to sites in New York and Connecticut, the Daily Voice operates sites in Auburn, Grafton, Leicester, Milford, Millbury, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Upton and Westborough. Early this afternoon, announcements were posted to the sites thanking readers for their support and saying the Daily Voice would no longer be covering the area. Content is still available on the sites.
Daily Voice Chief Marketing Officer Mitchell Silverman could not be reached for comment this morning.
Jennifer Lord, the former managing editor of the Grafton Daily Voice, wrote yesterday on her personal blog that seven reporters, one managing editor and three salespeople lost their jobs.
Meanwhile, Steve Balestrieri, who was a reporter for the Millbury site, posted the news on his Twitter feed yesterday.
All 12 town reporters, editors, office staff laid off today. Boom. Bum status
— Steve Balestrieri (@SteveB7SFG) March 4, 2013
He also said there were job losses in New York and Connecticut.
In May 2011, CentralMassNews.com, which operated 10 hyperlocal websites, was bought by Main Street Connect, which later changed its name to The Daily Voice.
Last September, Silverman declined to disclose revenue numbers to the WBJ, saying the company wasn’t yet profitable but that he believed it was “much closer [to profitability] than any of our competitors.”
