TORONTO - Three southern Ontario newspapers owned by Torstar Corp. (TSX:TS.B) are cutting a total of about 64 jobs in a streamlining caused by slumping advertising revenues.

On Monday, Torstar's Metroland Media Group announced the elimination of 64 full-time-equivalent positions at three papers, including 30 at the Hamilton Spectator, 21 at the Waterloo Region Record and 13 at the Guelph Mercury.

At the Spectator, the paper is cutting the equivalent of about 30 full-time positions, although the layoffs affect 35 people in full time, part-time and contract positions.

Record publisher Paul McCuaig says most of the jobs at his newspaper were in the editorial and advertising departments, including about 10 newsroom jobs.

The Waterloo Region Record had taken several measures over the past year to reduce the need for layoffs, including early retirements, he said in an interview.

"It's the economic downturn that we've seen . . . over the last year and a half," he said.

And 2009 isn't looking any better, he added, with a big drop in classified advertising and national display ads in January -- primarily for cars and technology.

Spectator publisher Dana Robbins also attributes the cuts to the recession, and its affect on advertising sales.

Brad Honywill, president of Local 87-M of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, said combined with those who recently took voluntary severance packages, the changes represent a major cut to news operations.

"That inevitably affects the quality of news gathering that takes place at our newspapers, and that affects the ability of our citizens to be educated on what's happening in our communities and, consequently, the health of our democracy," Honywill said in statement.

The union estimated that the actual number of people losing their jobs was about 20 per cent higher than 64 because each "full-time-equivalent" position may include a combination part-time jobs that are equivalent to the hours of a single full-time position.

In recent months, a number of media companies have cut jobs to cope with a slump in advertising revenues as the recession batters national advertising, especially by the big auto companies and other troubled industries.

Last week, commercial printer and newspaper and magazine publisher Transcontinental Inc. (TSX:TCL.A) cut 1,500 positions, or 10 per cent of its Canadian, U.S. and Mexican workforce to address the deepening recession.

About 600 of the 1,500 jobs being pared are in Canada, and half of those are in Quebec. Many jobs in Transcontinental's magazine unit were affected.

Earlier, broadcaster and newspaper publisher Canwest Global Communications (TSX:CGS) cut 560 jobs at its TV and newspaper divisions. The Globe and Mail said three weeks ago it's eliminating almost 90 jobs and Sun Media revealed in December it is cutting 10 per cent of its workforce, including about 50 jobs at the Toronto Sun.

Smaller newspapers in Atlantic Canada and other parts of the country have also been cutting jobs.

Torstar owns and operates Canada's largest-circulation daily, the Toronto Star, as well as other publications. The company also runs the Harlequin publisher of romance fiction.

A spokesman for the Toronto Star confirmed that the newspaper isn't part of the cuts.

In trading on the TSX, Torstar B shares fell 17 cents to $6.77, a drop of nearly 2.5 per cent.