Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The latest from One Herald Plaza


The news from the Miami Herald on Wednesday afternoon is there is no news.

McClatchy vice president of operations Frank Whittaker, who oversees 10 daily newspapers in California, Florida and the Midwest, was seen coming back from a breakfast meeting this morning with top Herald executives according to my sources.

Some of the Herald execs attending the breakfast meeting with Whittaker were publisher David Landsberg, executive editor Anders Gyllenhaal, Elissa Vanaver, VP/Human Resources and assistant to the publisher, Rick Hirsch, Managing Editor/Multimedia & Special Projects and Liza Gross, Managing Editor/Presentation & Operations.

But late Wednesday afternoon no word was forthcoming from the executive suite.

For weeks rumors have been circulating at the paper of personnel cuts of as much as 15%.

My sources say the mood in the newsroom is very tense.

People are "freaking out," said one source adding, "it's a very tense time. They are dealing with people's lives. These are people who have worked their hearts out for this paper. And if it's not this round maybe next round."

While no one knows yet where the cuts will come from some rumors circulating say the sports department will be spared major cuts.

But one source said, "they've cut all the fat and now they're starting to cut into the muscle. The newspaper business is changing faster than gas prices."

Stay tuned.


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