Downie Departure Watch is Latest D.C. Blog Sport

By: Joe Strupp The "death watch," as it were, for Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. of The Washington Post appears to be among the biggest spectator blog sports for several news Web sites.

The "watch" is not on his life, of course, but on his career. At least, his career running the Post.

Reports that began earlier this week had Downie, the 17-year newsroom chief of the Post and 40-year veteran of the paper, stepping down today, later this year and, in one recent item, not until Inauguration Day 2009. Most of the speculation is driven by Thursday's deadline for Posties to take the paper's generous buyout, an offer that dozens of staffers -- David Broder and Tony Kornheiser among them -- have taken.

The buyout, up to two years' salary for eligible staffers who are 50 years of age and older, is expected to end up pushing out some of the paper's most experienced people, including three department heads in features, copy desk, and news art.

But it's Downie who is getting the brunt of the speculation, especially since it is believed rookie publisher Katharine Weymouth wants to install her own editor at some point.

Politico.com, which has followed the buyout and Downie gossip as well as anyone, reported Wednesday that "Rumors are rampant in the Post newsroom that he will make a statement imminently, though there are various potential scenarios being bandied about ?- that Downie will take a buyout this week (or another executive severance package), stay through the election, or set up some timetable for a more rapid withdrawal within the next one to two months."

At DCFishbowl on mediabistro.com, another report stated: "One Postie tells us that the bottom line is that Downie's gone, regardless of when (within a few months, at the latest most likely). The only real question is who will succeed him and the fact that Katharine Weymouth hasn't found a replacement may explain why Downie's still around."

Then there is Washington City Paper, the local alternative press, which posted an item Wednesday speculating that Downie could be announcing his departure on Thursday: "Executive Editor Downie has declined to knock down rumors that his departure from the newspaper is in the planning stages. And so a fair amount of shop talk is to be expected. Last night, Washington City Paper called Downie to ask about this big, huge, major announcement on Thursday. His response: 'There?s no announcement coming on Thursday." Maybe Friday?"

Finally, late Thursday, Radar online reported that Downie was safe until at least Inauguration Day 2009, writing: "As Washington Post staffers reached the deadline to decide whether they would take buyouts, newsroom sources confirmed that WaPo Executive editor Leonard Downie will retire no later than inauguration day, 2009. An announcement could come as early as today."

Further muddying the waters is that Downie could take a buyout and make arrangements to stay on until the end of the year, end of the summer or end of next week. Reached earlier today, the top editor had no information to reveal to E&P.

But short of any explicit announcement, which is unlikely to come soon, the speculation will probably continue.