Gambit
Advance Publications asked about half of the people in the Times-Picayune newsroom to stick around once it stops printing daily and shifts to the Web, but some of them have decided to move on, reports Kevin Allman. “The number of veteran personnel turning down the new company’s offer — particularly long-time metro reporters — is said to have taken those in the executive suite aback,” he writes.
According to Allman, one of the people who has turned the company down is Brendan McCarthy, who was a 2009 Pulitzer finalist for local reporting; another is investigative reporter David Hammer, who was recognized by the Society of Environmental Journalists for his work on the BP oil spill. People with job offers have until the end of today to accept them; if they accept the severance package instead, they will stay at the company through Sept. 30 or an earlier date to be chosen by the company.
Sources at Advance’s papers in Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, Ala., where most of the newsroom staff were cut, said that their deadline is also today, although I was told that some people in Birmingham have gotten extensions as they wait for details on their new jobs. || Related: Times-Picayune staffers say Leonard Pitts mischaracterized their response to Katrina in his column about the dismantling of professional journalism (JimRomenesko.com) | 2 AnnArbor.com execs now at NJ.com, fueling curiosity about Advance’s intentions (Poynter)
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