photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCB

The Press Democrat was sold to newspaper conglomerate MediaNews Group less than a month ago, and now staff at the Santa Rosa paper of record are already being offered buyouts.

Officially it's not a layoff, but a voluntary separation plan that's being offered to the newsroom staff at The Press Democrat, Petaluma Argus Courier, Sonoma Index Tribune, and North Bay Business Journal.

Phil Barber, an investigative reporter at the Press Democrat and leader in the newspaper's newsroom staff union, the Press Democrat Guild, said the offers were delivered by email Tuesday morning, with decisions due by May 23rd.

"Obviously, these are going to be individual decisions that every employee on his or her own will have to make," Barber said. "Perhaps it will make sense for some people. I'm sure it doesn't for others."

Employees who accept the separation plan will be offered at least two weeks base pay, with up to 15 weeks possible based on years of employment.

Barber said the Guild is still trying to get a full picture of how they'll be affected by the recent sale, and avoid a panic within the newsroom.

"We as employees and we as a union...try to help our members wade through this really big decision," Barber said. "Of course...we're all thinking about what this means for the future. In some media outlets, including some belonging to MediaNews Group, severance packages have been followed by layoffs, but we don't believe that's always the case, and we don't want to make that assumption."

While the separation offers have raised obvious alarm bells, Barber and the guild are keeping a conciliatory tone.

"If we feel that MediaNews Group is violating our contract, then yes, obviously litigation is always on the table," Barber said. "At this point, we have not seen any signs that MediaNews [Group] is in fact, doing that. We really look forward to bargaining and negotiating with MediaNews Group in the future."

MediaNews Group referred a request for interview and comment to the company's public relations representative and KRCB News has reached out for a response.