Baquet Ouster Draws Surprise and Anger Across Industry

By: Joe Strupp When Dean Baquet finished his now-famous speech before editors in New Orleans two weeks ago, in which he urged them to stand up against newsroom cutbacks, he was asked by E&P there how long he expected to remain at the Los Angeles Times.

"Hopefully, 15 years," he told the reporter. "When I retire at 65." That hope ended on Tuesday when word of his forced departure leaked out.

The announcement that Baquet would leave at the end of this week, in part because of the public pronouncement in New Orleans he made against potential cutbacks -- first reported by E&P -- drew surprise and anger by many in the industry. Alex Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy, agreed, saying "it is a very unhappy moment for news."

Among those critical were some who attended the address before the Associated Press Managing Editors, in which he appeared to have solidified his position following the ouster of Publisher Jeff Johnson, with whom he had stood in defiance of cutbacks.

"We were all inspired by what he had to say and I would think many of the editors at the conference were rooting for him," said Karen Magnuson, APME president and editor of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. "I was left with the impression that he was working with the publisher to work it out. I was surprised, it was highly unfortunate."

Magnuson's comments were similar to many in the newspaper business, both current and retired, who reacted with surprise and disgust at what they saw as a strike against journalistic excellence in favor of bottom line finances. With reports revealing that Baquet apparently lost his job after refusing to implement potential future reductions sought by Tribune Co., and new publisher David Hiller, colleagues and others in the newspaper business contend the situation was a slap in the face to editorial quality.

"It is a mistake, as is the approach in journalism in general, living quarter by quarter and not worrying seriously about the future," said Eugene Roberts, legendary former editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who worked with Baquet when he was managing editor of The New York Times from 1994 to 1997. "If it is not careful, Tribune will cut itself out of existence."

Bill Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, said he was stunned by the Baquet firing, adding that "I can't understand the ownership of an institution like the L.A. Times that doesn't celebrate an editor in the job who represents the independence of the newsroom." He also believed that Baquet had made an effort to reduce costs, saying "he has always demonstrated that he can work with the corporate ownership."

Said Phil Bronstein, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Dean seems like a guy who is very well-respected by his staff and is very inspirational to them. I don't know what the precise circumstances were there, only Dean and the Tribune Company know what is going on. Every circumstance is probably a little different."

But at least one person criticized Baquet for not leaving when Johnson departed. Doug Clifton, editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, said Baquet should have resigned in support of his former publisher weeks ago. "He should have taken the bullet with him," Clifton said. "They took a stand as a matter of principle. If the publisher got offed because of his stance, I don't see why the editor didn't go. He should have resigned as an act of solidarity with the publisher."

Clifton also said Baquet's decision to stay makes it more difficult for his replacement, James O'Shea of the Chicago Tribune, to be effective. He said putting the staff through essentially two uproars in a matter of weeks can cripple their acceptance of a new person. "You put the editor who follows you in an atrocious position," Clifton said. "You undermine your successor's ability to do anything."

Still, Clifton praised Baquet as a journalist, saying he had tried to hire him when he was news editor in the former Knight Ridder Washington bureau. "He's a bright, bright, bright guy," Clifton noted.

Other current editors offered surprise and praised Baquet's work. "I am admiring of Dean, he is a terrific editor and a great investigative editor," said Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, who said he spoke to Baquet Tuesday, but declined to reveal what they discussed. "In New York, he was a very effective editor of investigative reporting, in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times continued to do an outstanding job of foreign reporting and national reporting, those are things we compete against."

Martin Baron, editor of The Boston Globe and a former Baquet colleague at The New York Times, also weighed in. "It is regrettable," he said of the firing. "I think it is a very sad moment. He's a wonderful journalist and a wonderful person. The reaction of the staff speaks to his abilities as an editor."