THE LIBERATION SOAP OPERA

The board of directors ofLiberation, saw the editorial reform project presented by the Société civile des personnels de Libération (SCPL), or the Civil Society of Libération Staff, and suspended its decision after the paper’s main shareholder, Mr. Rothschild, saidf that the plan was economically unviable.

The SCPL, which owns an 18.4% stake in the paper, proposed a budget-balancing plan for 2007 including 50 staff cuts and a reduction in the number of pages with more emphasis being placed on the paper’s website.

Rothschild, who invested €20 million in the paper last year of which all has been spent, would like to see about 100 journalists cut from the paper’s payroll.

It is figured that the paper needs a €15 million euro investment to stay on its feet.

The board will meet again on October 26 for another vote.

Le Monde has this dramatic chart about the crisis of Liberation and the French daily newspaper industry.