The liberal group MoveOn has now spawned MoveOn Media, which has held demonstrations protesting against the Tribune Co.'s job cuts at its various newspapers and other media properties.

An excerpt from the Dec. 26 NYT story:

Public demonstrations against a newspaper's editorial views are not uncommon. But it is highly unusual for anyone to protest a newspaper's internal business decisions.

Nonetheless, that is what is happening these days to the Tribune Company, the Chicago-based owner of several of the country's major daily newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Baltimore Sun, The Hartford Courant, The Orlando Sentinel in Florida and The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa.

The company has cut its work force by 4 percent, or 900 jobs, accounting for nearly half the estimated 2,000 jobs lost in the entire industry this year.

These cuts have caught the attention of MoveOn Media Action, an offshoot of MoveOn.org, the liberal activist group formed to oppose President Bill Clinton's impeachment. The group, whose parent organization has worked against President Bush (whose poll numbers have fallen with the reporting of difficulties in Iraq and other problems), says the cuts at the Tribune papers undermine important watchdog journalism.

Its campaign has included public demonstrations as well as petition drives in Tribune cities to gather signatures protesting the job cuts.