M.E. Seals Leaves 'Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch'

By: Mark Fitzgerald Louise Seals, who joined the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch in 1968 and who has been its managing editor since 1994, retired Monday, the newspaper announced.

The announcement of Seals? departure followed her unexplained absence from the newsroom Thursday and Friday, which fueled rumors about her status at the paper. According to a source who insisted on anonymity, Seals said goodbye to individual staffers in the newsroom Monday morning, accompanied by Executive Editor Glenn Proctor. The scene was described by some of those present as ?surreal.?

Times-Dispatch President and Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri said there were many incorrect stories about the events of the past few days.

?Our newsroom is a font of rumors,? he said in a telephone interview. ?There was one that she was being marched out of the building last week, all sorts of incorrect rumors.?

Silvestri said he was not surprised by the retirement announcement.

?I?ve worked with Louise a long time,? he said. ?She?s probably the best copy editor I?ve ever worked with, just first-rate.?

The announcement quotes Seals as saying she had been contemplating retirement for some time. ?I?m looking forward to spending time with my husband in the garden, and working out in the gym five times a week,? she said.
Proctor said a search for her successor ?will begin immediately.?

Seals denied rumors that she had been terminated or escorted from the building, telling E&P Tuesday that "it is time to enjoy life a little more without working." But when asked to explain why a formal announcment of her departure came days after she left the job, she declined to comment.

In the paper's announcement, Seals said she?d had ?a great run? at the newspaper, which she said has become ?much more reflective of the community.?

Among other things, Seals said, she was ?proudest ... of holding her ground when anyone tried to restrict access to information that belonged to the public.?

Seals and other Times-Dispatch top managers were in the news recently for complaints that their communications policy -- which requires staffers to get permission before speaking to outside journalists -- amounts to a ?gag order.? The Times-Dispatch vigorously denies that characterization, saying it is no different from the usual policies adopted by private businesses.

The announcement, headlined ?Managing Editor Louise C. Seals Steps Down Today,? quotes Proctor as praising Seals for ?her leadership in the newsroom, and her dedication? to readers.

?She was an advocate for every reader, encouraging her staff to deliver compelling, accurate information every day,? Proctor said.

Seals was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in 2003. She was a past president of the Virginia pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She helped found the paper?s Urban Journalism Workshop, and helped create the Virginia Press Association?s minority internship.

Seals also served as treasurer for the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME), and held leadership positions in the Virginia Press Association.