Sixty35, the confusingly named combined replacement of the Indy, Business Journal, and other local publications, announced in their email newsletter that they laid off staff today.

From the email:

March 15 is going to be a hard date to forget here at Sixty35 Media. We had to lay off about half of our staff today. It was devastating.

What happened? Our board of directors recently discovered $300,000 in unaccounted-for debt that carried over during our transition last October from a for-profit company to a nonprofit. Like many other independent, locally owned media, we’ve also fallen victim to a perfect storm of stunning print-cost increases, dwindling advertising dollars in the post-COVID world, and an increase in overall supply and operational costs.

But we’re not closed. And we have a plan.

Our focus now is to work our asses off to make sure 30 years of local, independent journalism lives on in this community. This is vital.

We’re committed to unflinching coverage that holds the powerful accountable and gives voice to the voiceless. We’re committed to letting you know how your tax money is spent; how your government, police and fire departments operate; to bringing you the arts, culture and entertainment coverage you love. We’re committed to being the progressive news voice in an otherwise conservative media environment.

We’ve had to make some difficult decisions over the past couple weeks. While we could have thrown in the towel, the decision to carry on was actually relatively easy. With all our hearts, we believe in journalism as a pillar of democracy and a service to the people.

March 15 will live in infamy here. But we’re not giving up the fight. You can help us keep Sixty35 alive. Visit sixty35media.org/donate. Tell your friends. Share this message. And pick up next week’s Sixty35 news magazine for more.