The Mercury News lost some of its best reporters today as its new owner, Media News, continued its desperate slash of costs. Twenty-three reporters and editors are leaving, most involuntarily, although some took a buyout. Look for a much thinner paper and many more unnoticed shenanigans.
I haven’t worked at the Mercury in nine years so I don’t know all those who are leaving, but there are a few who were let go whose work has consistently been outstanding.
Barry Witt, for example, broke more hard-hitting stories than most everyone, including the news that Alameda County had vastly overpaid to lure the Raiders to Oakland.
Carolyn Jung has been a food writer and the food section editor and consistently made the section interesting.
Lisa Chung was a columnist, metro reporter, and editor and a visible face of the paper.
Sue Hutchinson’s column held prime real estate in the paper for years. She was nimble with words and wrote about an astonishing variety of topics.
A few veterans took buyouts, including Steve Wright, the editorial page editor (and my former editor) and Rebecca Salner, the assistant managing editor of business. They both had been at the paper for almost 20 years.
These people were assets to the newsroom. It’s a crime they will no longer be part of this news-gathering operation. In protest, Charles Matthews, a former Merc reporter, cancelled his subscription to the paper today. Read his reasons.
Here’s the list:
Layoffs
Lisa Chung, Metro feature writer, ex-columnist
Steve Chae, Library
Katherine Conrad, commercial real estate reporter
Barbara Egbert, copy editor
Barb Feder, medical writer
Dennis Georgatos, 49ers beat writer
Elizabeth Goodspeed, features designer
Joanne HoYoung Lee, photographer
Carolyn Jung, food columnist
Dave Kiefer, sports writer
Thu Ly, photographer
Mike Martinez, travel writer
Erik Olvera, Metro reporter
Connie Skipitares, metro reporter
Barry Witt, Metro reporter
Buyouts
Alvie Lindsay, state bureau chief
Matt Mansfield, deputy managing editor
Pam Moreland , features editor
Rebecca Salner, AME of Business
Steve Wright, head of editorial pages
Voluntary departures
Sue Hutchison, features columnist
Julie Kaufmann, food editor
Levi Sumagaysay, assistant Business editor
4 comments:
Frances: In observing how very talented editors and reporters are being sent to the backyard to be shot without explanation, while young digital pups remain relatively clueless about what's going on, I am likewise observing these developments with considerable alarm. I'm particularly troubled by blogging developments. Newspaper bloggers SHOULD be journalists and should make calls and pound the pavement, but they choose to be link aggregators instead. Which is not to disparage link aggregation, as it is to show that journalism proper is dying as we speak. I'm doing my best to atone with the podcasts, Frances. But I'm telling you, nobody wants hard-hitting journalism anymore in the newspapers. Which is not to dismiss bloggers. But this is a goddam shame. Because we need people questioning every aspect of life.
I half agree with you Ed. While I don't think nobody wants hard-hitting journalism, I think fewer and fewer outlets do. I see a time in the next few years where the country has just a handful of good papers, Like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal and the rest are just thin sheets that serve as wrapping for ads.
Of course that leaves room for much more malfeasance on the part of elected officials.
The blogs newspaper reporters now write are meant to compliment, not replace, the articles they write for the paper. That's why they don't contain much substance. But as a former reporter turned blogger, I don't see the Web picking up the slack. It's hard work to dig up information and most bloggers work for free.
Your podcasts are full of content and are great. Thanks.
Bye, bye Barry Wittless....good riddance
I was talking to my neighbor last week about how thin the Merc had become, and now this. It's just a death spiral for what used to be a very good paper. Sue Hutchinson was one of the few reasons to still pick up the newspaper and I appreciated the work Carolyn Jung had done in the Food section. I'd say I'm going to cancel my subscription, but that happened during the last round...
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