Connor guts opinion staff too...

[bob quarteroni]

Editorial Shift at the Portland Press Herald
Submitted by Al Diamon on Mon, 10/17/2011 - 9:54am.
Maine Media
Diminished opinions: The Portland Press Herald editorial pages – and those of its sister publications, the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel – took a big hit in last week’s round of layoffs and buyouts. Until the cutbacks hit, the opinion staff consisted of three people: editorial page director Bill Thompson, liberal editorial writer Greg Kesich, and conservative writer M.D. Harmon. They produced or edited the local content for all three papers. Once the dust settles, according to reliable sources, the only one left on that beat will be Thompson.

Harmon is negotiating the terms of his buyout, which may include continuing his weekly column. Kesich is returning to the Press Herald’s much-depleted reporting corps, where he could have a tough time re-establishing his credibility as an objective observer after years of promoting the left-wing line.

Maybe company CEO Richard Connor will write more to fill in the gap.

Just kidding.

[bob quarteroni]

Well thanks gang, about 10 days and not a single post other than mine. thanks for all the help and support. bob q.

Departures at the Portland and Bangor Papers
Submitted by Al Diamon on Fri, 10/21/2011 - 10:36am.
Maine Media
Empty desks: Here’s an update on buyouts and layoffs at the Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News, Maine’s largest newspapers.

At the Press Herald, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. was the deadline for members of the Portland Newspaper Guild who had received layoff notices to “bump” to lesser positions. Editorial writer Greg Kesich waited until close to the witching hour before deciding to accept a lower-paid reporting job, after his position was eliminated. Management at the paper expressed no concerns that Kesich, whose been a voice for liberal views since taking the opinion job fifteen years ago, would have a credibility problem in returning to allegedly objective news writing. “It’s just not a issue,” one company insider said. “They think he’s lucky to have a job.”

Also gone at the Portland paper, newly hired business reporter J. Hemmerdinger and rookie York County reporter Emma Bouthillette, as well as sports writer Rachel Lenzi. In addition, the Press Herald got rid of its part-time copy editors and several employees in advertising and distribution. Right-wing editorial writer M.D. Harmon also confirmed his retirement, but said his weekly column will continue to appear on Thursdays and will also run in the Press Herald’s sister papers, the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal.


At the Bangor Daily, twenty-two people will get done, most of them as of the close of business today. That’s less than the approximately thirty voluntary departures the company had hoped for, but it’s not yet clear if there’ll be layoffs to make up the difference.

Newsroom personnel who are leaving include veterans Jeff Strout, Diana Bowley, Sharon Kiley Mack, Meg Haskell, Joni Averill, Joel Crabtree and Roxanne Saucier. Charlie Campo and Jill Marston from the library will also be calling it quits.

No local yokel: The exits of Kesich and Harmon leave the MaineToday Media papers editorial pages in the hands of one guy, Bill Thompson, an old associate of company CEO Richard Connor. By all accounts, Thompson – whose title is editorial page director, but who was originally hired from out of state to run the KJ and Sentinel until it became obvious that wasn’t going to work out – is an intelligent guy with a keen interest in politics. Only one problem, according to a knowledgeable source:


“He doesn’t know anything about Maine.”