Two Key D.C. Editors Down -- How Many More To Go?

By: Joe Strupp (Analysis) With Washington newsrooms facing one of the busiest times in recent history, including a bitter Democratic primary battle, ongoing fallout from the Iraq War and an economy in turmoil, it?s a bit of odd timing that two major news outlets have chosen now to dump key editors there.

In less than two weeks, The Washington Post and Associated Press have unceremoniously ousted top editors in D.C., with few specifics given and much fallout.

The latest is Sandy Johnson, the longtime AP Washington bureau chief, who was bumped Friday morning, leaving some in the D.C. newsroom ?shell-shocked? and/or ?saddened," according to some staffers. In vague memos to staffers, Johnson and AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll offered the usual professional comments about the move, with Carroll saying Johnson had led ?with great distinction? and Johnson stating she leaves ?with great sadness.?

But it is clear Johnson was pushed out. One indication is the fact that she was offered another AP job and had not decided if she would take it.

During a meeting with Washington bureau staffers Friday, Carroll and AP Managing Editor Mike Silverman discussed the move. Sources there said that Carroll indicated concern over that bureau?s enterprise output and quality, also noting that other AP bureaus had reported being poorly treated by Johnson.

In one strange twist, the meeting was apparently recorded by someone in the room, so look for it to pop up on YouTube.com or some other do-it-yourself site.

Some of those who spoke with E&P on condition of anonymity said Johnson?s tenure at the bureau, dating back to 1998, deserved praise. But others said she had drawn complaints from some staffers. But several others supported her efforts, declaring the bureau was ?very shaken up.?

In her memo, Carroll acknowledged Johnson?s role in keeping AP from declaring a presidential winner on Election Night 2000, despite other news outlets wrongly reporting both George Bush and Al Gore had won that night at different times. That race, of course, was not decided until a month later.

Carroll declined to elaborate on Friday?s meeting or Johnson?s move, telling E&P Saturday: ?I am just not going to talk about anything I said to AP staff. I have nothing else to say about this.?

Along with the potential effect on coverage, Johnson?s departure comes at a time when AP is facing a backlash from numerous newspaper editors over a new rate change and seeking to provide more multimedia efforts.

The Post, meanwhile, is still dealing with the fallout from the removal of Susan Glasser, assistant managing editor for national news, who lost that job April 21. Reports have her mulling a new project with Washington Post chairman Donald Graham.

As with the AP change, Glasser?s departure also is ill-timed given not only the national news landscape these days, but the Post?s own situation.

Coming off a record Pulitzer Prize sweep, in which the paper won six of the 14 journalism awards ? its most ever ? the Post is also in a significant change mode. Buyouts are being offered and are sure to result in several key, Pulitzer-winning staffers leaving, while the future of Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. remains an unknown.

Since new publisher Katharine Weymouth took over in February, speculation has increased over how long Downie will remain in his job. Despite garnering 25 newsroom Pulitzers under his leadership since taking over in 1991, the most ever for a Post editor, Weymouth may want her own person eventually.

Some have speculated that moving Glasser out was Downie?s way of flexing muscles, while others contend that is not his style.

As for Glasser, reaction to her ouster has ranged from some who contend she was difficult to work with to others who say she made important changes and improvements. ?Susan can have a prickly personality, but she was trying to make decisions that were difficult to make,? said Jonathan Weisman, a six-year Post staffer. ?People who didn?t like the changes might interpret this as some kind of retrenchment.?

Weisman declined to comment on reports that he had been in talks with The New York Times to leave the Post and that Glasser convinced him to stay. ?She had this vision that the Washington Post has this brand and would be seen as a pivotal player in political coverage,? Weisman said. ?That was her focus.?

Tom Ricks, a prominent Post military writer, said of Glasser: ?I thrived under her. She was really good at identifying peoples? strengths.?

The AP and Post moves are just the latest in a string of Washington bureau upheavals in just the past few years. Those include: Tribune consolidating all of its D.C. offices into one location; Media General shrinking its Washington bureau staff and reorganizing its beats; Hearst giving up its offices and leasing space at McClatchy?s bureau; McClatchy Washington Editor David Westphal departing for a new California post with wife Geneva Overholser; and Block Communications, which owns The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, shutting its longtime D.C. outlet.

With both the news industry and Washington news not likely to settle down anytime soon, don?t be surprised if more unexpected editor shifts occur soon.