By: Joe Strupp Clark Hoyt, Knight Ridder's Washington editor, told E&P this morning that he has been assured that McClatchy plans to keep KR's much-praised Washington bureau after its deal goes down.
"McClatchy values this operation and intends to keep it. ... McClatchy is an excellent company, very much like Knight Ridder," he said. It is a good outcome that we will stay with McClatchy." The bureau boasts 110 staffers between the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service and the Washington bureau, including 16 national correspondents, nine editors, and 13 reporters for different newspapers.
Hoyt sent a memo to staffers, revealing a meeting this afternoon with Howard Weaver, McClatchy's vice president for news. "I know from talking with him today that McClatchy highly values the work that you do and is eager to have you continue doing it," he wrote. He added that he had heard much the same from CEO Tony Ridder.
Ron Hutcheson, Knight Ridder's White House correspondent, told E&P that keeping the bureau "is the most encouraging thing about the deal." He called the McClatchy takeover "the best option out there. But I hate to see the Philadelphia and San Jose papers get sold.
"There are still a lot of questions about how this plays out. We were destined for a period of uncertainty with the sale no matter what, and this looks like the best option."
Staffers at the Washington bureau are meeting with McClatchy's vice president for news, Howard Weaver, at 1 p.m. today.
One staffer, who asked not to be identified, said, "This boils down to whether McClatchy is jumping into the big leagues. Will this be a less ambitious bureau for a less ambitious chain? Is it about making money or about journalism? I know it is always about both, but ..."
He added that he didn't know what the deal means for the chain's foreign bureau.
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