Twenty-six newsroom jobs at The Dallas Morning News are on the chopping block after Hearst, the paper’s new owner, told staff it plans to dismantle the copy desk and outsource print page production, according to the newsroom’s union. The change would wipe out in-house copy editors who also design pages and would shrink the newsroom’s workforce by 26 positions. Union leaders say the move breaks the newsroom’s collective-bargaining protections, and they intend to fight the cuts.
Union Says Hearst Is Violating The Contract
As reported by D Magazine, the Dallas News Guild says it received notice yesterday that Hearst plans to eliminate the entire copy desk, including sports, and outsource print page production, a total of 26 jobs. The guild points to the newsroom’s three-year collective bargaining agreement and says those protections cap reductions in force at 20 positions.
Guild Post And Next Steps
On X, the Dallas News Guild said Hearst “has chosen to blatantly violate our contract” and added it will “defend the contract through all legal channels available.” That public statement is the union’s first confirmation of the notices and signals possible grievances or other legal action if the company follows through.
A statement from the Dallas News Guild: 26 of our members are being outsourced—a violation of our contract. pic.twitter.com/Yzo8sAOjzC
— Dallas News Guild 🌟 (@DallasNewsGuild) November 18, 2025
Hearst's Recent Moves In Texas
Hearst completed a deal earlier this year to acquire DallasNews, folding The Dallas Morning News into its newspaper group. A July merger announcement from GlobeNewswire laid out the terms of the deal. Texas Monthly has reported that when Hearst bought the Austin American-Statesman, it declined to ratify that paper’s union contract and eliminated several copy-editing roles, a track record that has heightened worries in Dallas.
What The Cuts Could Mean For Readers
At The News, copy editors traditionally do far more than proofread. They write headlines, check facts, and historically, have helped lay out the paper’s pages. Guild members and newsroom veterans warn that outsourcing page production has in the past led to missed deadlines and errors, and the union has repeatedly documented operational problems tied to earlier outsourcing efforts. The Dallas News Guild has detailed those issues in prior posts and statements.
What’s Next
D Magazine reports it contacted Paul Luthringer at Hearst and DallasNews CEO Grant Moise for comment, and that neither company had publicly replied at the time of that reporting. The guild says it will defend the contract through legal channels, and newsroom staff are bracing for rapid operational changes if management implements the plan.
