BUFFALO, N.Y. — The same day the New York Daily News told its newsroom staff it would be cut in half, Governor Andrew Cuomo says he reached out to parent company Tronc Media.

"Yes, if they had a financial issue, the state would want to assist in that financial issue," Cuomo said Monday.

The administration said it's not just maintaining a standard of journalism but also the estimated 100 jobs that would be lost, by both the reporters and the state's economy. 

"Any job loss, we're trying to help in the state of New York because different sectors of our economy take hits at different times and we want to be of assistance," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.

While Cuomo has been clear the state would be interested in providing assistance, he has not provided a specific plan as to how that would come about. Democrat Assemblywoman Monica Wallace said she didn't read it as a bailout.

"I wouldn't be in favor of a taxpayer bailout, but to the extent that there are regulatory burdens that we can address or ways that the government can play a role with mediating a potential labor dispute, where I think that is an appropriate role for the government to play," she said.

Republican state Senator Rob Ortt is very critical of the plan. He said other local papers across the state have struggled or folded without the same kind of offer from the governor.

"I think there's a lot of conflict or potential conflict or the appearance of conflict when there's state assistance, state input or state money in private news outlets," Ortt said.

Ortt and Wallace said, as a rule, they are wary of bailouts for any industry unless there is a way to address the issues that caused a company to struggle in the first place.

"I think there's a big difference between incentivizing companies to come here or incentivizing companies to grow and expand as part of the private sector, and I think, a bailout," Ortt said.

"I think we have very finite resources in state government and I think we have to be very careful about where we spend that money," Wallace said.

They said if the administration does intervene, there should be intense scrutiny and strict guidelines from the Legislature.