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Thurs: Departures
posted at 2008-09-26 00:22 | Last modified 2008-09-26 00:36
Jonathan Cox details the layoffs at the N&O. The paper cut 53 positions, 20 of them from the newsroom. I’m told all the reporters were bought out as opposed to laid off, but still, it's sad news.
On the list in Cox’s story are Grey Blackwell (as I wrote here Tuesday), TV critic Danny Hooley, Business/”Savvy Consumer” writer Vicki Lee Parker, education writer Kinea White Epps, books editor/craft columnist Marcy Smith, and of course, investigative guru Pat Stith.
I’ve been told the following reporters are leaving as well:
- From the Orange Co. newsroom: Matt Dees, Cheryl Johnston Sadgrove, Molly O'Day
- From the Edit desk: Features editor Chuck Small and Home & Garden editor Weta Clark
- From Metro: Samiha Khanna
Those are all the names I have, and if you’re a regular N&O reader, they’re names you probably recognize. Matt Dees was the Durham city hall reporter. Samiha Khanna covered the Duke Lacrosse story. Vicki Lee Parker’s all over Triangle business news. Danny Hooley is Mr. TV. Marcy Smith wrote the Notions blog. They’re all solid, smart, talented folks, and I'm truly sad to see them go.
The worst part of it all is that it isn’t about whether McClatchy’s making money -- it is. Just not enough of it. The company took on a huge debt load to buy Knight-Ridder (that’s when they acquired the Charlotte Observer) and it’s not paying it off fast enough to satisfy its lenders. So this isn’t even about profitability. It’s about a business deal that, at this point, looks pretty ugly. Here’s hoping time proves otherwise.
Political reporters
The only Capitol Press Corps departure I know of so far is Charlotte’s David Ingram, or “Junior,” as we like to call him at the legislature. Junior took a buyout and is headed for DC, where he’ll be covering legal issues in Congress. Good for him, bad for us. He’s a super-smart kid with a very bright future. It's our loss that it won’t be here.
Correction
Andy Bechtel wrote in to tell me that political cartoonist Dwane Powell went part-time in July, and Ted Vaden in June. “Those moves were part of the buyouts/layoffs earlier this year, not the current round.” I’m not sure that's better news, but I’m happy to correct it, and WRAL has updated its story as well.
The latest news is that Powell will leave the paper entirely after the November election. Wow. Powell and Blackwell both? What are we going to laugh about?
Comments? Drop me a line.
