Mike Lupica, longtime sportswriter for the New York Daily News and ESPN commentator, was among dozens of newspaper employees axed in a round of layoffs this week.
According to The New York Times, Lupica began work for the Daily News in 1977 and also hosted a daily afternoon radio show at ESPN Radio until it was canceled last month.
"We all know that these are not exactly robust times for the newspaper industry so it’s hard to be surprised. Having said that, it was still a jolt to get the call today and even more of a jolt to see some of the names on the list. I’m not sure what their parameters or their rationale was," said one writer who lost his job.
Much of the paper's sports staff were laid off along with Lupica, including Bill Madden, the longtime national baseball columnist, Filip Bondy, Wayne Coffey, Roger Rubin, Hank Gola, Stephen Lorenzo, and Teri Thompson.
The New York Post, the Daily's rival newspaper, reported that Lupica was given a new, low-ball offer by owner Mortimer B. Zuckerman, but ultimately rejected it.
The rival paper also reported that the Daily's circulation across print and digital has fallen 41 percent over the 12 months ended in March, and that the paper lost $30 million last year. This summer, Zuckerman tried to sell the paper, but last month pulled it off the market.
As CNN reported, Colin Myler, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, will be departing in the coming weeks.
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