By: Joe Strupp Lalli Said He's Leaving On Good Terms
Frank Lalli, who resigned Wednesday as Sunday editor of the New
York Daily News after less than three months, said he quit
because he did not have enough staff for the Sunday edition to be
effective. "The resources were relatively limited and that made
it difficult to get things done," Lalli told E&P Online. "I
didn't see that changing anytime soon."
Lalli, who downplayed reports of a personal feud with any
Daily News executives, said he had only 1.5 fulltime
writers assigned to the Sunday paper, with the rest coming from
the daily ranks. He contends that at least four writers should be
dedicated to the Sunday product.
"Everybody was fully occupied with the daily paper and didn't
have time to work on the weekend edition," Lalli said. "At a
newspaper, if you don't have a dedicated staff, you have to walk
the halls looking for someone to do a story."
Staff cuts were announced at the Daily News shortly after
Lalli arrived, he said. The veteran editor claimed that made it
difficult for him to plan coverage and forced "a series of
projects to be delayed or stalled."
Lalli, 59, said he is leaving the Daily News on good terms
and believes the newspaper has made great strides in the past few
months with scoops and investigative series. Having served as
editor of George magazine until it folded earlier this
year, Lalli plans to help launch a new monthly business magazine
based in New York, but offered few details about it.
"It's something I've conceived as a startup that will look at
business in a fresh way," said Lalli, who added that the project
will require "tens of millions of dollars" in investments.
"People I've talked to say it is a good idea."
Lalli said he wants to return to magazine editing because it
offers the chance to oversee a complete staff. "The top editor
(at a magazine) has a dedicated staff and can execute ideas," he
said.
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor for E&P.
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.
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