The Ventura County Star cut seven jobs today, marking the first time the company has laid off employees as it struggles with a difficult economy and shrinking ad revenue.

The newspaper cut two positions in operations and production, four in circulation and one clerical position in accounting.

Publisher George H. Cogswell III said the paper's senior management team has spent the past five months looking at any opportunities to reduce costs without taking away from The Star's newsroom and advertising staffs. The team looked for positions that could be eliminated through new technology or operating differently. The company this year budgeted for the equivalent of about 350 positions.

"This is a painstakingly detailed, heartstring-pulling process. We do not take it lightly," Cogswell said. "It is a course of action we would never hope to go down. Laying folks off ... is a very difficult business decision."

Affected employees were notified on Friday and Monday. Cogswell sent a note about the layoffs to all employees Monday afternoon.

The seven workers, who were not identified because of privacy issues, will receive a severance package that provides compensation based on length of employment and medical benefits for three months. The average time the employees worked for the company was less than five years. The individuals worked out with their managers whether they would finish out this week.

Most of the newspaper industry has been struggling with shrinking advertising revenue. Print advertising in the third quarter was down 9 percent from the year before, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Classified advertising was down 17 percent from the previous year.

E.W. Scripps Co., parent company of The Star, is in the process of splitting its operations into two companies — one that handles newspapers and broadcast television stations, and one that handles the company's online ventures and cable television franchises such as HGTV and Food Network.

According to preliminary fourth quarter results, Scripps estimated that total newspaper revenue was down 9.6 percent to $165 million. Advertising revenue at newspapers managed solely by the company — those not in joint-operating agreements — was down 12 percent from a year ago at $131 million.

Scripps' stock rose 40 cents Monday to close at $42.71.

"There's been a trickle-down effect from a pretty devastating real estate market," Cogswell said. It has affected several areas of advertising, with real estate, jobs and automotive listings hit the hardest.

Cogswell said advertising at The Star was down about 15 percent when comparing 2007 to 2006.

"I don't think we've seen the bottom yet," Cogswell said. "We need to prepare ourselves. Things could get worse before they get better."

Even with a small number of cuts, it is a painful process, particularly for papers that have had a long tradition of rewarding people for years of service, said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst with The Poynter Institute.

Papers are taking many different approaches to savings these days.

"The cost-cutting climate is so urgent, many things are being looked at," he said.

He said some papers have outsourced some functions either to another company across town or a call center in another country. Some have outsourced ad production work, others have outsourced their printing.

Edmonds noted it becomes a balance of cutting costs and still putting out a paper people want to read.

"There's some sense it's potentially dangerous to go too far with newsroom cuts," he said. And there's a similar incentive to protect advertising sales.

That doesn't mean that all papers are avoiding such cuts.

Last week, Tribune Co., now owned by billionare Sam Zell, announced it plans to cut about 400 to 500 jobs across the organization, including some newsroom jobs. The New York Times also announced last week it was cutting about 100 newsroom jobs.

At The Star, the first cost cuts that directly affected personnel were voluntary buyouts offered in April to 22 employees in various departments. Nine employees took the buyouts. The paper also outsourced its print advertising design department.

"There are no plans to further reduce the work force as it relates to our core product," Cogswell said.

He said the paper is creating target market opportunities with niche publications in print and online that will start to launch in the coming months and bring in new revenue. He wants to return the paper to a growing business and eventually adding jobs.