Houston Blog

The severance pay only extends to Hearst employees. A good portion of people at 801 Texas, myself included, were Corestaff contractors. We received no severance, and are forbidden to contact our former coworkers. This applies to at least 20 people, according to the nice lady who booted me out into the street.

Others I've heard:
+ Steve Gonzales (photo ed.)
+ Sharon Steinmann (photographer)
+ The Pham (photo desk)

Theidiotsaretakingover says shut down the stupid comments section on chron.com, yet they are using the comments section here. Hmmmm.

Idiot

Editorial folks today...advertising tomorrow. The axe, she is a waving at 801 Texas. DUCK!!!!!

Your coverage of the Chron layoffs has been admirable. It's natural that you would be so effective in putting a human face on what's happening to your fellow journalists. Everyone should remember that similar stories are unfolding in thousands of workplaces around the country.

Steve Gonzales was not let go. Instead, he's being demoted to working as an assigning photo editor (thank his boss, Scott Clark).
Also not leaving, despite six figure salaries and dubious performance records, because they are FOJs (friends of Jeff Cohen): Rick Casey (old friend from San Antonio); Dan Cunningham (old friend from San Antonio); John Wilburn (old friend from San Antonio); Steve Jetton (hack lawyer and sycophant); Scott Clark (hack lawyer and sycophant).
Nearly 30 percent of the newsroom was terminated today. Number of cuts from the masthead: 0. Old friends, old white guys and ass-kissers live. Journalists die.

Correction to previous photo list:
+ Steve Campbell (photographer)
+ Sharon Steinmann (photographer)
+ The Pham (photo desk)

Also laid off: sports copy editor Curt Baltzley.

I guess the irony of how many errors there are in this list -- and the subsequent comments -- shouldn't be lost on us today.

No editors laid off in the Chron feature section, so now the ratio is 2 editors for every 1 reporter in the section

I asked someone recently what, exactly, Scott Clark did at the paper, and this person replied, in all seriousness "I heard he's Jeff Cohen's b--h now."

There are a ton of ass-kissers up in that place.

As usual, they keep the wrong people.

Get rid of Sweeney (AKA Most boring man alive with bad hair) and Cohen and his cronies. That alone would save enough money to keep a lot of reporters on the payroll and I doubt that crew would be missed. It isn't as if they have some mystical editorial insight.

If that's true about Steven Gonzales it makes me sad ... Go back to KC so you can get some respect.

Having Scott Clark as a boss makes a laughing stock out of the Chronicle's decision making abilities. To give him so much authority is a horrible choice ... Number one his background is a lawyer not the paper, not photography or design or web yet those are the people he is over now. And two, I may be wrong on this but I believe it was Scott Clark working in Business at the time of the Enron scandal and he completely missed it happening when another paper outside of Houston reported it first. WAY TO GO SCOTT.

He recently became head over editorial design/graphics, photo and has been head of online for sometime. He's just a really terrible boss. In all the months over editorial design/graphics he never talked to or acknowledged a single person in our department, except when he'd go into Susan Barber's office and shut the door 5 times per day. I'd say hello or good morning to him in the hall and he'd just walk right past me looking down at the floor. Nor did he ever address our department when he took over ... Somewhat of a coward or has serious social issues, I don't know. But I do know that after 15 years of being an art director/designer and having operated my own design firm for several years that is not how you interact with/to your employees and/or co-workers.

Sorry Jeffy boy, but having Clark as your boy is a really horrible choice. I'm just glad to be out of there.

First the DMN was the best paper in Texas, until it decided it didn't want to be. Then it fell to the Chron. Now the Chron has decided it doesn't want to be the best paper in Texas.

I nominate the Waxahachie Daily Light.

That all those people in upper management can't find a way for the paper to turn its online edition into a money-making venture is reason alone to show them the door...

I'm SO sad about Clifford Pugh..I loved his fashion coverage.

OH no not Clifford Pugh,he was one of the STARS at the Chron and one of my fav.Sad day for Houston :(

Also, if anyone is keeping track of how much the roster of journalists has been depleted, at least three people took buyouts in the past two weeks -- Lindsay Heinsen in features, Burke Watson in news and Lowry Allen on the copy desk, and travel editor Harry Shattuck retired.

Someone at the paper (who's at least semi-plugged in) told me recently there's a 50/50 chance that, in two years, there will no longer be a print edition.

To use a sports term, I'm taking the under on that...

Thanks, Outsider, I fixed.

And thanks to everyone else pointing out omissions, corrections, etc. I appreciate it.

Has anyone wondered why the chron does nnot have enough money to pay people so thay lay them off but thay have enough money to put all that new marble on the building and in front of it and new sidewalks. HMMMMMMM.

I count 53 on the list .... that means there's still another 37 we don't know?!?! I can't imagine who else is left.

Was these union folks? If so, were the layoffs seniority based? If not, how did they choose the victims, a wing and prayer?

what about those in advertising??

I am crushed for all the great creative talent and energy now on the street in Houston...and across the US for that matter. People who work in news give so much to their communities and Houston's community is loosing so much. For the few I knew and all those I didn't, I hope new paths open for you quickly.

I think it's real touching how Cohen communicated with his dwindling staff via e-mail. I mean, who needs him to show up and deliver the news personally in this fantastic technological age we're living in.

WAY TO GO JEFFY!!!! WOOT!

SIGHHHHHHH ...

So there I am in that list above ...

Wow. I'm not sure how to respond now that I see so many of us listed. I for one am very glad to be out of there. On the other hand being w/out a job in this economy is a bit concerning. I know I have skills outside of the normally print design arena but I worry for those that I know do not and I know my friends still there are very upset. I was talking to one earlier and I know she was in tears over it all.

I'm not sure if any of you were following my Twitter postings yesterday but I was basically running the entire days layout all day. I knew I was probably a goner due to I was a contract employee so I figured why not? People had a right to now what was happening. Then Jeff Cohen himself called me and in not so many words asked me to stop to be professional about it all. I was by the way being professional. Of course I am by nature a smart-ass at times but I was only conveying the truth of the days events.

After the call I logged off for a while but then received another call ... You know what that one was. I quickly fired up Twitter again to post one last time within the building. Again, nothing negative or untruthful, only the honest truth that I'd been let go.

Jeff ... You've said since day one in Houston that the Chronicle would be the watchdogs of the community, you have a poster in your office that reads 'Remember why we are here' ... Be truthful to that and the readers of that paper and tell the public what just happened, what will happen and why and what we can all expect from the Houston Chronicle in years to come. And do it as a newspaper man, not a guy with a corner office.

Cat Corley, sports secretary (who was supposed to be let go yesterday, but got lost in the shuffle and was promptly escorted from the building when she showed up for work today).

'twas writ above:

"Someone at the paper (who's at least semi-plugged in) told me recently there's a 50/50 chance that, in two years, there will no longer be a print edition."

It may not take two years. This is from last week’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer ( www.seattlepi.com/business/403793_piclosure17.html ), a sister publication of the Chronk:

“The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will roll off the presses for the last time Tuesday.

The Hearst Corp. announced Monday that it would stop publishing the 146-year old newspaper, Seattle's oldest business, and cease delivery to more than 117,600 weekday readers.

The company, however, said it would maintain seattlepi.com, making it the nation's largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product.

…"

leave comments for the chronicle here: http://blogs.chron.com/aboutchron/archives/2009/03/talk_about_the.html
or better yet, send jeff cohen an email! jeff.cohen@chron.com

Rich, you and Banjo are doing a fine job of covering a grim situation. As a survivor of both local papers, I appreciate your dedication.

Any copy editor will tell you, on the down-low, that many of the high-dollar "editors" who dodged the bullet don't edit, they direct traffic, get their hair done, and don't have a clue how to make a deadline, while they leave the real editing to the desks.

I get frustrated about the errors, but realize that most of them are probably due to reporters and desks being pushed beyond their limits.

A consolidated universal desk is not likely to improve that situation.

Keep up the good work.

my favorite part of the whole experience was being greeted with an offhand joke about copy editors by the bigwig who told me my copy editing job was being eliminated.
or maybe it was being shuffled off to an office with an "outplacement specialist" who peppered me with questions about what other jobs i might want right after being given the news.
or maybe it was being interrupted after i was "given a moment" for bursting into tears in front of said specialist, only to be walked in on by the next fired person (i guess it's hard to keep track of everyone with so much traffic through human resources).
no, no... my favorite part was definitely listening to two human resources ladies cattily discussing how "awkward" laying people off was, not two feet away from me, while i waited by the elevators to be escorted out like a criminal.
Thanks for giving us information on who was eliminated. i too am shocked by some of the names here, having worked with them closely, and knowing who is still there.

The thing many of us have in common is that we were chosen not for our skills/talent nor our salary. There are older folks and young folks. There is no rhyme or reason for who they picked. One thing we do have in common is that we are not 6-figures. We are the 30Ks and 40Ks a year. Did we really save them that much? I have no income, no insurance for my family, no way to pay mortgage/bills. Oh but I did walk away with a friendly handshake and kind words from my boss. If only I could cash that in.

Is Megan Manfull, the Texans beat reporter gone? I can't find her blog on the blog mainpage.

The cuts to the college sports reporters is absolutely grim, and the sports group cuts in general are awful. Blinebury and Murphy in partictular will be missed.

I googled the UH and rice blogs - looks like they are taken over by Steve Campbell(UH) and Megan Manfull(Rice).

I know people are bitter, but does anyone really believe that Jeff Cohen or anyone else in management came to the Chronicle to lay people off? Hearst wanted 90 bodies. Sure, all of us might make a few substitutions, but what I've heard in the newsroom is an understanding that if you had to fire 90 people, this was pretty much the correct list.
Anyone want to offer up his own list of 90 that's substantially different?

They could have offered up at least one DME or AME. Seriously. At least make an effort to appear like you're not being total pricks!

iwonder--if you read past some of the unbridled bitterness you'd see that others have already offered up different lists. They've named names and given positions of folks that are less productive than those let go. If you work(ed) there, then you know that things are poorly managed--this layoff and how it has been handled is only more evidence of that. No one likes layoffs and during the current economic crisis, its scarier than ever. Much of the bitterness is simply born of that fear. But more of it is a result of how the layoffs are being handled. Employees aren't treated with respect, the powers that be don't stand up and make the hard announcements, there's no transparency with the community or vendors. Most comments aren't about whether or not the layoffs were needed but rather the lack rationale in who was kept and a resentment over the disrespectful manner in which things went down. Wake up, iwonder, some things are just plain ugly . . . this is one.

2 more not mentioned from Advertising/Circulation:

Steve Higgins (Advertising)
Matt Tritico (Circulation)

to iwonder:

Nope, bullshit, you either drank the Kool-Aid or you're an old white guy who has an office and a fat Hearst salary.

There are numerous other people who could have easily gone and not been missed whatsoever instead of many of these hard-working, experienced people who spent years and nights and weekends of their lives and who dropped everything when there was an accident or space shuttle crash or 9/11 or another sickening corporate crime that needed reporting and editing. I won't embarrass anyone by naming names, but anyone who has worked there for any period of time knows who the remaining deadwood is, an I'm shocked to not see them on this list.

And as far as Scott Clark goes, it's true about him fiddling with his Blackberry while Enron burned. Somehow he transferred his geeky tech fascination into another job and climbed the ladder, because that's the Chron way. He is truly socially inept. If caught alone and forced to talk, he can manage, but he cannot do spontaneous small talk. I don't think that makes him a bad person, but he's pretty bad at what he does.

Speaking of a-kissers...is that how David Barron remains employed?

To iwonder:
You bet I can come up with a better list than what is there. Too many fantastic journalists were let go. It leads me to believe the ones making the decisions just picked names out of a hat and never paid attention to productivity or talent. If they had, most of those people wouldn't be on that list. I just hope for bigger and better things for them.

I read that the Chron will replace Clifford Pugh with 2 reports now,1+1 will never =Clifford Pugh,HELLOOOOO

Very sad day for print journalism in Houston.

Unfortunately the list above does not include some who were let go earlier this year from the Chron.

Personally, this week's events have more to do with the death of newspapers across the nation then problems specific to the Chronicle or Houston. Matter of fact, I remember reading in Advertising Age not too long ago that the Houston Chronicle's web site (chron.com) was the most successful of any daily paper in the nation in regards to revenue generated online in comparison to in print. So in some ways the Chron was cutting edge. But obviously that was not enough.

As a former Cox Newspaper Reporter who married another newspaper reporter (HCN, Southern Newspapers), it is so sad that one day I will have to explain to my daughter due in August, what a newspaper was.

God bless all of you fellow print journalists out of work.

natalie, i also was somewhat surprised it came out and felt bad for the folks who produced it on such a hellish day. and then, this morning, i read that terrible orca headline and burst out laughing.

There are some very talented and hardworking people remaining, but many of the best WERE escorted out of the building for reasons unknown. And some who remain are the equivalent of office furniture or pet rocks. Ditziness is prized above all.

Also, it should be ANNGELA Buck of suburban desk.

Lets just say that I am in a position that I know who in this building does and does not work and Jeffy should be worried because he got rid off all of the good people and he will go down with this ship. I have never seen a company make as many stupid decisions as the Chron has made in the last couple of years. If another major newspaper came into this city they could shut the Chron down fast

@natalie: You may have been using hyperbole, but I personally had to turn on those people's computers for them for three years. So that line got quite a giggle out of me.

My boss took a buyout with the hope that'd be one less position they'd slice out of our already-decimated-and-merged department. It didn't work. He called me (in violation of that no-contact clause, omg!) to express his disgust and regret about Tuesday's events. I'll probably never have such a great boss again. Ultimately, I guess I'm glad both he and I are off to better pastures.

Visit Houston a couple times a year - what a vibrant place-- paper always full of great local news -- what are they think they are doing - you can get reprocesed pablum 50 other places

For some reason my prior post protesting Clifford Pugh's treatment has disappeared. I still urge people to write the editor of the Chronicle, Jeff Cohen at jeff.cohen@chron.com to register their dissatisfaction.

As a Chronicle reader for many years, I will personally miss many of the reporters on this list. Many of you in this space have said that you were among those that were fired. More than one you said that you were going on to greener pastures. But, what are the greener pastures?

Inarguably, we are witnessing the death of the newspaper at the hands of the Internet and television news. Given the loss of newspaper jobs nationwide, it is unlikely that those displaced by the death of the newspaper will find jobs in this medium. Knowtherealchron said "If another major newspaper came into this city they could shut the Chron down fast." While I share this sentiment, it is clearly wishful thinking. No white knight exists—at least not in the newspaper business.

Assume for a minute that the newspaper is already dead. Can you envision an upstart Internet competitor to Chron.com? Are any of you who were laid off talented enough to take on the Chronicle where it will eventually reside once the printed version is dead? While it is unlikely that the Chronicle will be displaced by a printed paper, it is vulnerable on the Internet.

As a result of poor managerial decision making, the quality of the Chronicle has declined. The paper has gotten smaller, the number of articles written by Chronicle reporters has decreased, and the quality of the journalism has declined. Since Chron.com is a reflection of the Chronicle, the degradation of quality at the Chronicle has been felt there as well. This is troubling and sad to those of us who prefer the print medium. But, it is an opportunity for those of you who were laid off by the Chronicle and who are seeking "greener pastures."

There is a dearth of good regional reporting in the Houston area. Houston politics, crime, and business have been covered poorly for years, and good investigative reporting is virtually non-existent. While television news has filled some of this need, this medium is inherently superficial and incapable of delivering the in-depth reporting and cogent analysis that newspaper readers demand.

Where there is a need, there is an opportunity. Since the barriers to entry are much lower on the Internet, a group of talented individuals with a solid business model and a modest amount of financial backing could beat the Chronicle on the Internet. So, while you seek greener pastures, I challenge you to consider taking on your former employer on the Internet. You deserve better treatment than you were given by Hearst, and Houston deserves better news coverage than we get from the Chronicle and Chron.com.

My heart goes out to everyone on the list. There is life after layoff. Please, all of you, sign up on LinkedIn if you haven't already, so we can find you if we come across job leads.

ChronFamily- Having health insurance for my kids and a regular paycheck to buy groceries sounds pretty comfy to me right now. Sorry, no sympathy.

Let's not forget the Olinses in this whole mess. they may not be in the staff box, but not if helen has anything to say about that. helen spends most of her time trying to shut her husband up by handing him the job he wants at that moment, when it's already been established that he's incompetent as a manager. plus now he's in online and i hear there was a team of folks sweeping up after him whenever he touched anything. and saint helen fired allen schilling, a veteran (and highly competent) manager to hand that job over to stephanie dicapua, who was still in diapers a few years ago. what a joke. from what i hear, stephanie has terrible news judgement and can't edit to save her life. her only qualification is being up helen's a**. these folks may think that they're in a good position now, but their actions will catch up to them when in a few years their job disappears and none of their former friends will pick up the phone and help them out.

Can this please stop? As in now? I know these women and these are unwarranted personal attacks. And I'm *not* a sycophant, sorry. Like a lot of other people there, I worked my tail off for years to get there. And I've been around the business long enough and I'm self-aware enough to recognize that some people are just gifted, and THAT is why they are rewarded.

So whoever posted that crap, I encourage you to get yourself to a better place. That kind of thinking is nothing but corrosive and ugly.

My mom was a newspaper ed, so I get that it's a cyclical thing. The grim reaper rolls through every once in a while. Some casualties are a case of "the tallest trees catch the hard wind." Others are...not s'much.

"An Open Letter to Houston Chronicle President/Publisher Jack Sweeney (upon the whacking of their book editor)":
http://boxingoctopus.blogspot.com/2009/03/open-letter-to-houston-chonicle.html

what's amazing is the way hardworking chronicle employees were just treated, not the fact that consequentially people are angry about being treated like sh&^. undeserving backstabbers like all those mentioned by name here can cry me a freaking river.

Is Kristen to Go actually the new travel editor? What a Joke.

I for one am grateful someone on the sinking ship threw me overboard before the whole thing capsized. It's only a matter of time before everyone else drowns, and the ten competent people left are going to be in living in hell until it happens.

I cannot believe that Edwin Louie and Robert Dibrell were laid off-- the two nicest people in that building, and hardworking people to boot.
Also, I heard that Eric Kayne received a photography award on the same day he got laid off?
And Joe Markman and Jessica Creighton? Those two were the only reason anything ever got printed or put online in Business.

http://www.houstonpress.com/about/terms

"Without limitation, you agree to refrain from the following actions while using the Site:"

[snip]

"Transmitting any information" ... "that is unlawful, false, misleading, harmful, threatening, abusive, invasive of another's privacy."

[snip]

"Stalking or otherwise harassing any other person"

Richard, either you're not reading the Houston Press' terms of service or Village Voice Media's lawyers and managers aren't reading these comments. Either way, I suggest that you resolve the difference.

Looks like all this free speech may be a little too much for the Chron to handle!

We'll see how the chronicle does once they get sued. I signed their "nazi agreement" but I'm still working with a lawyer on a wrongful termination action. Let's see if it causes a reaction.

They ran the company into the ground and now the higher ups are pushing people under the water to stay afloat. I say let them burn.

Here's what the new Chronicle will look like due to all the cuts:

MEMORANDUM

DATE: March 25, 2009

TO: Staff

FROM: Jeff Cohen

RE: Work Flow Changes

As promised earlier this week, here is the first in a series of notes about changes in the way we produce the newspaper and Web site.

The news, features, sports and business copy desks are merging next week into a universal desk that will produce all of our daily, weekly, special and niche sections. This will require a number of changes to production schedules, copy desk assignments and copy flow. Reporters, originating editors and copy editors will have to take on new responsibilities and work more closely together to make this work.

What follows is a detailed outline of some of those changes and new responsibilities.
Reporters

¾ Story lengths. Reporters and assigning editors will agree on target lengths for every story and include them on the budget. Because we continue to be respectful of our readers’ time, anything longer than 15 inches needs to be discussed with the lead editor for the section.
¾ Suggested headlines. Reporters need to provide a suggested headline in the Web headline field in DTI. This can serve as a Web headline and be considered when the print headline is written. Reporters should also write a summary in the Web summary field that will appear online. The Web summary is a short recap of the story, typically the lead or nut graph.
¾ CQ’ing stories. Reporters should individually CQ all names (on first reference) and numbers in the story in notes mode before filing it for editing. The CQs will be removed by the originating editor before the story is sent to the copy desk. A CQ means a reporter received the information from a primary source and has doublechecked it in the story.
¾ Using DTI. Except for those working in the field, reporters should write in DTI. Copying and pasting from another program introduces bad quote marks and other formatting problems that often go unnoticed until the story is laid out.
¾ Spell check. All stories should be spell-checked by the reporter.
¾ POEs, graphics and photos. If a story is going to have a POE, reporters should write and format it before filing the story to their editor. If the default POE format is not being used, the reporter should delete it by right-clicking inside the element and selecting, “Delete element.” Reporters should also provide information to graphic artists early in the writing process so the reporter can proofread the graphic before it’s sent to the copy desk. Reporters should write or at least review the captions for the photos accompanying their stories.
¾ Deadlines. With deadlines for some sections moving up and the need to accommodate late-breaking stories, non-breaking stories must meet a section’s copy deadlines. If necessary, wire copy may need to fill a space if a pending staff story is not available in time.
Assigning/originating editors

¾ Planning. Editors should not pitch a non-breaking story for the daily paper unless it is mostly written, the graphic is under way and the photos are taken. Photo and graphics assignments on non-breaking stories should be made before the writing starts.
¾ Story lengths. Originating editors should cut stories to budgeted lengths before sending them to the copy desk.
¾ Photos/graphics. Originating desks are responsible for checking the accuracy of graphics and photo captions. Captions should be corrected in DTI when photos are available before the story has been routed to the copy desk.
¾ CQs: Assigning editors will check to make sure all names and numbers are individually CQ’d by the reporter. The editors then will strip the CQs, leaving one note at the top of the story indicating to the copy desk that it has been checked. This is an extremely important part of the process.
¾ Deadlines: Assigning editors must assure that non-breaking stories get to the copy desk by the new deadlines set for each section.
¾ Spell check. The originating editor should perform a final spell check on all stories just before sending them to the copy desk.
¾ Formatting. If a reporter is filing from e-mail, the assigning editor needs to run a find/replace for quote marks and extra spaces. The assigning editor should also check POE formatting and delete extra elements when necessary. Stories going to the copy desk must have:
­ Byline
­ Signer (e-mail address at the end of the story)
­ CQ at the top of the story indicated the reporter has checked it
­ POE (formatted correctly or deleted)
­ Quote marks, extra spaces corrected
­ Web headline
­ Web summary

A brief “how to” will follow this.


¾ Training. SpeedWriter training will be available to reporters and assigning editors, covering POE formatting, spell check, Web tags, deleting elements and using notes-mode.
Copy editors

With the merger of the copy desks and changes in production schedules, copy editors can expect changes in both their schedules and daily duties. In general, the desk will operate with fewer “reads” of a story – without first reads, traditional slotting and story-by-story proofing. Stories will be read just twice – by the originating/assigning editor and by a page editor – and then released by a copy chief after only a brief review of the display type on proof.

With this approach there will be four key copy desk roles:
¾ Copy chief
­ Oversees the production process
­ Is the point of contact for originating desks and attends their budget meetings
­ Works with assigning editors and page editors to ensure good copy flow
­ Assigns page editors to sections
­ Checks and releases pages
¾ Section editor
­ Takes ownership of a section and oversees page editors working on it
­ Assigns pages to page editors
­ Coordinates the section front; rims own stories
­ Books section and makes adjustments
­ Assigns stories to rim editors, when necessary
¾ Page editor
­ Lays out pages that may span multiple sections
­ Edits the stories, writes headlines and handles all other content on assigned pages
­ Transports stories to the Web
­ Rims advance copy, centerpieces (as needed) and some sports stories (as needed)
¾ Rim editor
­ Writes headlines and display type for section-front centerpieces, advance features and sports copy
­ Transports stories to the Web
­ Assists other editors in handling Web copy during off-peak hours

Subject matter experts will focus on their areas of expertise, but everyone on the copy desk will work across multiple sections. An editor, for example, may lay out and edit the Television page inside Star and then work on the Newsmakers page inside A.
Deadlines

Last page releaseCopy to desk
Star (daily)6 p.m.Module/copy for Star front (10 a.m.); Inside local copy (11 a.m.)
Op/Ed (daily)7:30 p.m.
Business (daily)8 p.m.Inside local copy (7 p.m.)
Inside A (daily)8:30 p.m.
Business front (daily)9 p.m.Non-breaking cover stories (7 p.m.); last cover story (7:30 p.m.)
City/State (daily)9:30 p.m.City/State centerpiece (6 p.m.); Inside City/State (7 p.m.); City/State cover stories (8 p.m.)
A1 (daily)10:30 p.m.(9 p.m.); last A1 story (9:30 p.m.)
Sports (daily)11 p.m.Specialty pages (3 p.m.); Nonbreaking centerpiece (6 p.m.)
Preview/Dining7 p.m. (Tuesday)
Travel11 p.m. (Wednesday)(Noon, previous Friday)
Zest11 p.m. (Thursday)(Noon, Tuesday)
Star (Sunday)11 p.m. (Thursday)Inside copy (Noon, Wednesday); Module/Fashion page (6:30 p.m., Friday)
San Antonio (Saturday Lifestyle)11 a.m. (Friday)(5 p.m., Tuesday)
Religion6:30 p.m. (Friday)Cover story (6:30 p.m., Tuesday); Inside copy (Noon, Wednesday)
Flavor6:30 p.m. (Friday)6:30 p.m. (Tuesday)
Outlook 8 p.m. (Friday)
Business (Sunday)12 a.m. (Saturday)
Sunday Owl (A,B,C)12 a.m. (Saturday)Staff copy/blurbage for Owl (noon, Thursday)
Gloss, HealthUnchangedUnchanged

It will be a sad day when newspapers are gone.

But it will be because of their inability to change with the times. And their poor choices in what to change. And the insufficient technology they purchase to change.

Stories less than 15 inches? Might as well just call it in. Guess we'll have to turn to TV to get the whole story.

I have a good addition for you... Alan Russell Dennis from the Metro desk was laid off on his first day back from his honeymoon.

I'm just sorry they let Dai Huynh go. She's a superb writer. So how does the Chron determine who stays and who goes? I don't get it. Don't you want to keep the folks who have a following? The ones with original voices? Now you have reporters who are just good enough. Maybe I'm missing the boat with online and Twitter these days. Maybe the Chron thinks that people just want quick-and-dirty fixes; written news without the depth. Not I. Give me writers who can write well enough to make me think, not just to inform. What a crying shame.

I left the Chronicle for an early retirement a little more than five years ago, and I have no regrets. I could write a book about what I think were/are the failures and weaknesses of the operation and how it is managed, but I won't, because 1)I was pretty outspoken when I was there, so the appropriate people already know how I feel, and 2) I have moved on. I am distressed by the tone of these postings here, however, because so many of them suggest that all the good writers and editors have left the building at 801 Texas. While it is true that many outstanding people are gone and will be missed,a number of marvelous professionals remain -- folks like Claudia Feldman,Lana Berkowitz and Everett Evans,to name a few. The fact is, they and their colleagues have their work cut out for them as they try to adapt the Chronicle in terms of 21st-century realities. Incidentally, I am a bit late in joining this discussion because I spent the past couple of weeks mourning the news that another of my former employers --the Ann Arbor News -- will fold in July.

For many years, enjoyed reading performing arts reviews by Charles Ward in the Chronicle. I have not seen his name for many months now.

Anyone know what happened to Charles Ward? TIA.