More Top Executives Leave 'Newsday'

By: E&P Staff Three more top executives at Newsday have followed former Publisher Timothy Knight out the door of the Melville, N.Y., daily.

In an e-mail to employees, new Publisher Terry Jimenez said the paper had reorganized its business management with the departure of the chief sales, marketing and circulation executives.

Jimenez said Ken DePaola, a Tribune Co. veteran who had been the newspaper's executive vice president of sales and marketing, and Lee Jones, senior vice president of advertising, are leaving. Circulation Vice President Paul Barbetta, who had previously announced his intention to resign, is also leaving the paper, Jimenez said. The e-mail was first reported on Newsday's Web site by Ellen Yan.

All three departing executives are veterans of Tribune Co., which sold the paper and its sibling free commuter daily amNew York to Cablevision Systems Corp. in May of 2008 for $650 million. DePaola was the former head of Tribune's Media Net. Jones had been interim head of MediaNet when he joined Newsday. Barbetta is a former circulation executive with Tribune's Baltimore Sun. Former Publisher Knight left the paper in late September.

Jimenez, who had been the paper's CFO, said he had "decided to immerse myself personally into our advertising sales operation to ensure that we have a minimum number of levels between the publisher and the advertiser."