Former Spokesman-Review editor Steven A. Smith said one of the main reasons he left his post was because "the journalism that's important to me is no longer possible," Smith told Knight Digital Media Center's Michele McLellan on Oct. 2.
With thousands of employees on the editorial side of newspapers being laid off or bought out in recent months, Smith -- the Spokesman-Review's editor since July 2002 -- becomes yet another high-ranking newspaperman to step down. Various editors and publishers across the country have relinquished their positions for various reasons, but many stem from the diminishing product, which can largely be attributed to the high price of newsprint and an advertising drought.
Smith's resignation was effective Oct. 3. Smith, who was in journalism for 36 years, told McLellan two of the main reasons he stepped down was because of the effects layoffs and cutbacks had on the quality of journalism and because he didn't feel able to speak out about these problems.
"I simply wasn't willing to stand up and tell people things would be better or even OK," Smith told McLellan. "And our publisher needs someone who can do that.
"It is time to stop standing behind our salaries, our bonuses and our pensions and stand up and say what needs to be said," Smith continued, referring to cutbacks and stop-gap measures to keep the newspaper in the black, which he said are "dooming our organizations to irrelevance and causing irreparable harm to our systems and society without consideration of the larger loss."
Spokesman-Review publisher W. Stacey Cowles said in a statement released to the newsroom Oct. 1 that the newspaper's workforce will be down to 470 in 2009; 60 down from its current level in 2008. No successor was named, according to the statement.
--
LA Mayor: If Dodgers lose, Zell must sell LA Times
Star business reporter jumps from PiPress to Strib
LA Times reports its September Web traffic up 84 percent from last year
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment