WWeek and Poynter are reporting that O Managing Editor Steve Engelberg is leaving. From Poynter:
Paul E. Steiger, editor-in-chief of ProPublica, a non-profit newsroom producing journalism in the public interest, today announced the appointment of Stephen Engelberg as managing editor. Mr. Engelberg is a managing editor of the Portland Oregonian and the former investigative editor of The New York Times. The appointment is effective January 1. ...
ProPublica will have the largest news staff in American journalism devoted solely to investigative reporting, with include roughly 25 fulltime reporters and editors, when fully staffed in 2008. ProPublica will be supported entirely by philanthropy and will provide the articles it produces, free of charge, both through its own Web site and to leading news organizations selected with an eye toward maximizing the impact of each article.
Mr. Steiger said, "Steve Engelberg brings great strengths -- terrific and varied experience, unquestioned integrity, a passion for meaningful journalism in the public interest -- to ProPublica. I'm delighted to have him as a partner in this endeavor, and I look forward to working with him to recruit the best possible group of reporters, editors and researchers."
[O]ne reporter with The Oregonian said the paper's staff was stunned when they got the email today from Editor Sandy Rowe about Engelberg's move. The newsroom insider said many colleagues were disappointed because Engelberg had regularly pushed staff to do better work.
"The reaction was 'Holy Shit,"' said the reporter.
No word on who might replace Engelberg as one of the paper's three managing editors. The other two are Therese Bottomly and Michael Arrieta-Walden.
Let the jockeying for position begin!
The Oregonian is a paper that is going through alot of changes internally. Some are the direct result of declining revenue and others reflect a decreased emphasis by senior management on maintaining good relationships with all staff members. This is certainly not the case with Sandra Rowe who has done alot to make The Oregonian a much more successful newspaper during her tenure.
Perhaps some current employees would like to comment on the current environment at The O.