‘Merc News’ Designer Who Illustrated Layoffs Now Joins Them
By Joe Strupp
Published: June 27, 2008 11:05 AM ET
NEW YORK — You could file it under “Ultimate Irony,” or just “More of the Same.”
But the announcement this week that the San Jose Mercury News would layoff nine employees today took on an extra feeling when word came down that one of those ousted would be Martin Gee.
Gee, a veteran designer and illustrator, drew industry-wide attention this spring when he created a poignant photo display of images from the Mercury News that represented the emptiness of the paper following recent cutbacks. He posted them on his Flickr page, which was eventually linked to by numerous other Web sites.
E&P reprinted many of the images in the June issue, with a story by Editor Greg Mitchell in which Gee stated: “I love this paper,” adding, “it’s the one I grew up with.” Gee told Mitchell at the time that he was not reprimanded for the display, but “our editor wrote a memo saying we should not dwell on the past.”
Media of Birmingham 