NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Wall Street Journal, owned by News Corp., (NWSA) - Get Report is offering all news employees worldwide the option to take buyouts, Reuters first reported earlier today.

The paper is hoping "a substantial number of employees" will accept the buyouts, the paper's Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker wrote in a memo, according to CNBC.

Employees who want to take the buyout were asked to email the human resources department by October 31 with the following statement: "I [NAME] elect to be considered for the WSJ News Department voluntary severance benefit."

The need to cut costs at the paper is a result of a decline in advertising, CNBC's Tyler Mathisen noted on Friday afternoon's "Power Lunch."

"Obviously the media landscape is changing. They can get more done with fewer people," Mathisen commented.

"Or they have to get things done with fewer people," CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera responded.

"What if they don't accept it?" CNBC's Brian Sullivan asked.

"A lot of them will," Mathisen said.

"It's a sad day for the journalist. I was an intern for them twice and I learned a lot about journalism and reporting," CNBC's Melissa Lee noted.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

TheStreet Ratings team rates News Corp as a Buy with a ratings score of B. This is driven by a number of strengths, which the team believes should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks the team covers.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: NWSA

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