GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - Some of the Grand Rapids Press' most veteran staffers left the paper Tuesday.
11 employees, representing 295 years experience, are retiring. Among them, columnists and editors Tom Rademacher, Charley Honey and Ruth Butler; reporters Ted Roelofs, Sue Merrell and Pat Shellenbarger; and photo editor Hoyt Carrier.
They're taking advantage of buyout incentives offered by the Press' parent company, Booth Newspapers, as it struggles with a downturn in the media industry.
"It's sad for me - still there are a lot of great people still working at the Press" Honey said. Butler told WZZM 13, "It's time for maybe for some of us to let the 'next growth' come up".
Honey, Rademacher and Butler will continue to write columns on a contractual basis.
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