LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to help laid-off newspaper employees, Newspapers & Technology and The Job Network have created an online program to help journalists as well as operations and production personnel find new employment. Job seekers can post their resumes free of charge on Newspapers & Technology's Web site, www.newsandtech.com. The resumes will be available for viewing on nearly 375 Job Network sites, plus affiliated networks such as RealMatch, SimplyHired, Google, Scientific American and Geek.com.

The Job Network offers state-of-the-art real-time technology that grades and matches employers' needs with candidates' skills. Employers can also use the service free of charge to enter criteria associated with open positions. Job Network matches employers' needs with submitted resumes and returns those resumes that best match those requirements. An employer would be charged a small fee to view the contact information associated with candidates who best matched the job.

The partnership was announced Monday at the Newspaper Association of America's mediaXchange conference here. With major newspaper groups facing serious financial challenges - and some in bankruptcy - the number of newspaper jobs has plummeted. More than 7,000 newspaper jobs were lost in 2008, and no relief appears in sight for 2009. Late last month, the Rocky Mountain News closed, and daily papers in Tucson, Ariz., San Francisco and Seattle have been targeted for closing or staff cutbacks.

"This is a very challenging time for the industry," said Mary L. Van Meter, publisher of Newspapers and Technology. "Not a day passes that I don't get a phone call or an e-mail from some very capable person who's looking for a job." Van Meter and Marc Wilson, president of The Job Network, both serve on the Inland Press Association board of directors, and at a recent board meeting the two agreed to merge the promotional power of Newspapers & Technology and Wilson's Job Network technology in an attempt to help laid-off newspaper employees.

"I wish we could do more," Wilson said. "I understand that very few newspapers are hiring. But I think that many newspapers have gone overboard in staff reductions, and when the recession ends, there once again will be a demand for talented reporters, editors, production, circulation and other staff."

The Job Network, a premier provider of employment solutions, is a limited liability partnership owned by TownNews.com, RealMatch Inc., Schurz Communications, Pioneer Newspapers, Dix Communications, the Seaton Group, Calkins Newspapers and the PAGE Cooperative. Newspapers & Technology is the publishing industry's premier source of news and information about newspaper operations and production. For further information, contact Mary Van Meter at 303-575-9595 or Marc Wilson at 309-269-7826

(Read the original release at BusinessWire.)