Sources: WaPo Executive Editor Leonard Downie Out in '09 (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

As Washington Post staffers reached the deadline to decide whether they would take buyouts, newsroom sources confirmed that WaPo Executive editor Leonard Downie will retire no later than inauguration day, 2009. An announcement could come as early as today.

Former International Tribune editor David Ignatius and post managing editor Phil Bennett are the leading inside candidates to succeed Downie, who has been paper's top editor since 1991, when he succeeded Ben Bradlee.

Many of Bennett's colleagues described him as "moody," and he may have suffered from backing Susan Glasser to become the assistant managing editor for national news. Glasser was pushed out of that job last month at the behest of Katharine Weymouth, the new Post publisher who is also searching for Downie's successor. Glasser's personality was described as "toxic," and she was widely viewed as a failure on the national desk.

Ignatius was popular as editor of the International Herald Tribune, but as a columnist he has been away from the Post newsroom for several years.

Former managing edtior Steve Coll, who some people believe left the paper partly because Downie was unwilling to retire, told Politico that he had met recently with Weymouth, but he does not consider himself a candidate to become executive editor. New York Times Washington bureau chief Dean Baquet has also denied that he is a candidate. Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and Marcus Brauchli, who just resigned as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, are also under consideration.

At least two Post AME's have taken the buyout-art director Michael Keegan and Style editor Deb Heard, though Heard will stay on until December. As Radar reported yesterday, political columnist David Broder has also taken the buyout, although he will continue as a contract employee. The Post is hoping that between 60 and 90 staffers will take early retirement, and it appears that at least that number have accepted the buyout offer, which was more generous than the retirement packages offered earlier this year by the New York Times. The Times was forced to lay off some reporters and editors after not enough staffers accepted the proffered buyouts.

UPDATE: Twenty-five minutes after this was posted, Downie responded to our earlier e-mail asking, "Are you planning to retire by January 20th?" with a terse "No."

http://www.minnpost.com/davidbrauer/2008/05/15/1873/decimated_strib_to_cut_newsroom_budget_10_percent

Decimated: Strib to cut newsroom budget 10 percent

The Star Tribune’s newsroom budget will be cut 10 percent, with a plan in place by June 1, according to a knowledgeable source. The reduction amounts to $2.5 million — part of $20 million in cuts Strib management wants to deliver to lenders by June 30.

Management has just entered formal contract negotiations with the Newspaper Guild, which represents newsroom employees. According to the source, if the $2.5 million can’t be cut cooperatively, layoffs are an obvious option.

Management does not need the Guild’s permission to cut jobs. If layoffs occur, newest hires lose their positions first. Last year, the paper offered buyouts so more experienced, higher-paid newsroom staff would quit; no word if that approach will be tried this time.

The newsroom’s whacking is substantial, but the $2.5 million hit equals just one-eighth of management’s total proposed cuts. Another $12.5 million will be sought from non-newsroom unions — primarily Teamster locals representing printing plant workers, plate-making/graphics staff and mailers.

Management will find the final $5 million in cuts from non-union sources, the source says.

In recent weeks, Strib owner Avista Capital Partners has denied bankruptcy rumors, but acknowledged hiring New York’s Blackstone Group for a financial restructuring. The $20 million of cost-chopping would provide lenders an incentive to rework $436 million that Avista borrowed in 2006 for its $530 million Strib purchase.

The paper’s revenue declined from $378 million in 2005 to $303 million in 2007, and revenues have undoubtedly slumped further this year. The paper posted 6-7 percent circulation declines between September ‘07 and March ‘08.

In the past week, two well-regarded newsroom vets have announced their departures: books editor Sarah T. Williams will become a Planned Parenthood publicity public relations director, and Vikings beat reporter Kevin Seifert is leaving for ESPN.com.

Editor Nancy Barnes plans to communicate some version of the cost-cutting to the newsroom at 11 a.m. today. Publisher, CEO and part-owner Chris Harte — who mandated the overall cuts — will talk to other Strib workers later.
Media | Thu, May 15 2008 10:30 am

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003804294

Downie Departure Watch is Latest D.C. Blog Sport
Len Downie Jr.

By Joe Strupp

Published: May 15, 2008 5:22 PM ET

NEW YORK The “death watch,” as it were, for Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. of The Washington Post appears to be among the biggest spectator blog sports for several news Web sites.

The “watch” is not on his life, of course, but on his career. At least, his career running the Post.

Reports that began earlier this week had Downie, the 17-year newsroom chief of the Post and 40-year veteran of the paper, stepping down today, later this year and, in one recent item, not until Inauguration Day 2009. Most of the speculation is driven by Thursday’s deadline for Posties to take the paper’s generous buyout, an offer that dozens of staffers — David Broder and Tony Kornheiser among them — have taken.

The buyout, up to two years’ salary for eligible staffers who are 50 years of age and older, is expected to end up pushing out some of the paper’s most experienced people, including three department heads in features, copy desk, and news art.

But it’s Downie who is getting the brunt of the speculation, especially since it is believed rookie publisher Katharine Weymouth wants to install her own editor at some point.

Politico.com, which has followed the buyout and Downie gossip as well as anyone, reported Wednesday that “Rumors are rampant in the Post newsroom that he will make a statement imminently, though there are various potential scenarios being bandied about –- that Downie will take a buyout this week (or another executive severance package), stay through the election, or set up some timetable for a more rapid withdrawal within the next one to two months.”

At DCFishbowl on mediabistro.com, another report stated: “One Postie tells us that the bottom line is that Downie’s gone, regardless of when (within a few months, at the latest most likely). The only real question is who will succeed him and the fact that Katharine Weymouth hasn’t found a replacement may explain why Downie’s still around.”

Then there is Washington City Paper, the local alternative press, which posted an item Wednesday speculating that Downie could be announcing his departure on Thursday: “Executive Editor Downie has declined to knock down rumors that his departure from the newspaper is in the planning stages. And so a fair amount of shop talk is to be expected. Last night, Washington City Paper called Downie to ask about this big, huge, major announcement on Thursday. His response: ‘There’s no announcement coming on Thursday.” Maybe Friday?”

Finally, late Thursday, Radar online reported that Downie was safe until at least Inauguration Day 2009, writing: “As Washington Post staffers reached the deadline to decide whether they would take buyouts, newsroom sources confirmed that WaPo Executive editor Leonard Downie will retire no later than inauguration day, 2009. An announcement could come as early as today.”

Further muddying the waters is that Downie could take a buyout and make arrangements to stay on until the end of the year, end of the summer or end of next week. Reached earlier today, the top editor had no information to reveal to E&P.

But short of any explicit announcement, which is unlikely to come soon, the speculation will probably continue.

Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.