By: Joe Strupp Nearly three weeks after his abrupt departure as editor of The Sacramento Bee, Rick Rodriguez said he has made no plans for his future and remains mum on the reasons for his exit, which some have speculated was related to disagreements over Web site management.
So what has he been doing since he left the paper Oct. 18? Losing weight.
"I am using this time to get back in shape, I had been getting kind of fat," Rodriguez joked Tuesday by cell phone as he left a local gym. "I was not looking good in terms of weight."
In between workout sessions, Rodriguez, 53, says he has been in talks with "many people" about his future, declining to say if he had been approached by other newspapers, college administrators, or other related professions.
"I am still just trying got figure out what is best for my family," he stated. "I have talked to a lot of different people, but it is just talk. There are no firm offers. Right now just talking to everyone."
Rodriguez declined to comment on the reasons for his departure, citing an agreement with the newspaper and the fact that he remains a consultant until the end of 2007. "I intend to honor that," he said. "I've got nothing to say about the company."
When asked if a union leader's contention that he left, in part, over issues about newsroom control of some Web products, he said only, "everyone is speculating on what happened."
Married with no children, Rodriguez said he and his wife would soon leave on a vacation. "I am just kind of taking some time off, doing things around the house that should have been done a long time ago," he said. "See what is best." He said any kind of retirement is unlikely, given his age and desire to keep working. "I've got some good years ahead. I will decide when the time is right."
When asked how it has been to be not working in a newsroom for the first time in decades, Rodriguez said, "it is different. I have been a newsman for a long time."
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