What Shafer's piece overlooks is that newsroom numbers are higher today not simply because of bloat, but because work once done by the backshop — a workforce eliminated over the last decade at most newspapers — now resides in the newsroom. As jobs are cut, editors who once concentrated on content are increasingly burdened with production duties. And it rolls downhill -- reporters are being saddled with paperwork and procedural tasks, as well. It will make a noticeable difference in the long run.