New Times Broward-Palm Beach will depart its Fort Lauderdale office and consolidate its editorial operations with Miami New Times under editor Chuck Stouse.

Eric Barton has been laid off as editor of New Times Broward-Palm Beach:

“The move was always something that had been feared, but it still came as a surprise,” said Barton, who worked as a writer and editor for New Times for 10 years. “It just doesn’t make sense to have two papers so close.”

The two independent newspapers will share a common editorial staff, but content for each paper will remain separate.

New Times Broward-Palm Beach announced Barton’s departure in a blog post today:

Village Voice Media executive managing editor Christine Brennan attributed the change to “the lingering effects of the recession” and added that “the Broward and Miami papers will remain independent.”

With Strouse, a former Hollywood resident and South Florida Sun Sentinel bureau chief at the helm, she said: “I am confident that our content will be in good hands, and that we will be well positioned to continue growing our business in both markets.”