Bylines   

Chicago Tribune Shakeup

New Editor Howard Tyner removes Nicholas Horrock as Washington bureau chief of the Tribune after eight years and replaces him with features editor James Warren . Officially "on leave," Horrock says the move was not unexpected but declines further comment. Tyner says he appointed Warren because he wanted "somebody to take a look at how the bureau operates and how we treat Washington news from a different point of view." The move is part of a larger Tyner-led personnel shuffle that included the elimination of the military affairs beat covered by David Evans , who was dismissed (see Bylines, December 1993). Among the changes in Chicago: Media writer Pat Widder takes over as financial editor (filling Tyner's old position) and Margaret Holt comes aboard from Ft. Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel as sports editor. (She succeeds Dick Leslie , now overseeing design and style operations.) Public Editor George Langford succeeds the retired Doug Kneeland and, as one of his first projects, brings in an expert on religious fundamentalism to speak to copy editors after complaints that the daily is sometimes insensitive.

Making the Switch

The San Jose Mercury News suspends photo technician Mary Neinast for three weeks and apologizes to readers after a studio shot she took for a story about classic toys included wooden blocks subtly arranged to spell B A

L-E-S-B-I-A-N. Photo Director Geri Migielicz says Neinast had taken two photos, one without the message, but that she accidentally switched them during production. "The film backed her up," says Migielicz, who adds that only six or seven readers called in about the gaffe before local radio and TV outlets publicized it.

Laventhol Steps Down

David Laventhol , 60, president of the Times Mirror Co. , retires January 1 due to Parkinson's Disease. He also steps down as publisher of the flagship Los Angeles Times but remains as an editor at large. In a memo to staff, Laventhol wrote that his new role will be "a little less demanding, which will be helpful personally." His departure has stirred speculation that New York Newsday , which Laventhol had championed during his tenure as Newsday editor and publisher, may nosedive without his support because it's still in the red 10 years after its launch. But Newsday Editor Tony Marro says he sees "nothing other than a strong long-term commitment" from Times Mirror. Richard Schlosberg , a company vice president, succeeds Laventhol as Times publisher; CEO Robert Erburu adds the title of Times Mirror president.

He's Baaaaaccckk..

David Burgin , former editor in chief of the Alameda Newspaper Group , which includes the Oakland Tribune, returns to the job after leaving in May to start a golf magazine. His reappearance prompts Tribune Editor Pearl Stewart to make a quick exit. "His style and manner is stressful not just on me but on the people who work for us," she says. Burgin, who has edited the Houston Post , San Francisco Examiner and Orlando Sentinel , insists he gets along fine with Stewart but "if she's choosing to leave, so be it. I asked her two or three times to stay." As for his hiatus, Burgin says it was "shocking" to learn how bitterly readers view the industry. "The love affair that America once seemed to have with the daily newspaper is definitely over."

Standoff in Cheyenne

Two editors sue the Wyoming Eagle in Cheyenne after the publisher dismisses them for refusing to "actively" support a successful campaign to thwart a union drive by the Communications Workers of America. Kerry Drake , formerly editorial page editor, says he and then-Assistant News Editor Kelly Flores offered to parrot the company line to colleagues who asked, but refused to recruit them or wear buttons with the word "Union" and a slash through it. "We didn't want to be walking billboards or intimidate coworkers," says Drake, now at Casper's Star-Tribune . "Clearly a lot of people saw us as examples of what can happen [if they voted for the union]." Publisher Michael McCraken responds that although the two editors argue that "they're standing up for their 'principles,' I'm standing up for mine – I expect my managers to be loyal."

Free Ted

Ted Koppel , whose contract is up for renewal at ABC , says he plans to stay on at "Nightline" but doesn't want to make any long-term commitments. The anchor told Knight-Ridder he wants to "be able to move where I want, when I want, how I want" and believes "large corporations take people for granted in direct proportion to the length of their contract."

Sorry My Column Is Late

Gene Letourneau , the 86-year-old outdoors columnist who has worked for the Guy Gannett chain of Maine newspapers since 1929, found himself cold and alone while at a hunting cabin last October. After falling and breaking his hip, Letourneau spent seven-and-a-half hours crawling and limping (using his gun and a broom as crutches) nearly a mile to reach his car; he then drove 225 miles home to Waterville. Bill Nemitz , assistant managing editor for sports at the Portland Press Herald , says that "whenever anything happens to Gene, we get calls from all over the state from readers worried about him."

Here She Is..Your Noon Anchor

WGBC in Meridian, Mississippi, hires Marjorie Vincent, Miss America 1991, as an anchor-reporter for its noon newscast. "She had been interviewed quite a bit and felt TV might be something she'd be good at," says News Director Mike Stafford , who heard talk about the law student's interest and convinced her to join the two-year-old station. Says Vincent, 29: "I did wonder what it was like on the other side of the camera."

Finding the Right TV Dial

National Empowerment Television , described by its creators as " C-SPAN with attitude," debuts for cable subscribers in Fairfax, Virginia, and satellite owners elsewhere. The channel is supported by advertising and the conservative Free Congress Foundation. On the schedule: "The Other Side of the Story," produced by Accuracy in Media, "The Progress Report," hosted by House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich , "Insights with Robert Novak " and "Celebrate Life," a pro-life talk show.

New Jersey Editor Resigns

William Newill , editor of the Burlington County Times in Willingboro, New Jersey, resigns after butting heads with the daily's owner over coverage of a black state legislator. Following up on a Trenton Times story that was trumpeted by Democratic leaders, the Willingboro daily reported that Republican Rep. Priscilla Anderson had taken 59 paid days off from her $50,000-a-year high school counseling job while serving in the legislature at $35,000 a year. Newill says that after black leaders organized a boycott of the daily, he met with Sandra Hardy of parent Calkins Newspapers . "When an apology was mentioned, I lost my cool," says Newill, comparing the meeting to "an inquisition." Hardy responds that the matter has been "a tragedy of errors and misunderstandings. I never asked him to apologize. Quite the contrary, I defended the [article] as good journalism."

Changes of Pace

William Beecher , a Washington correspondent for more than 33 years, joins the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as director of public affairs. Most recently bureau chief for Minneapolis' Star Tribune , Beecher says he left to finish a novel and because new management was using more local news and less national and foreign coverage out of Washington. "That's not unique to Minneapolis," Beecher says. Although he received offers from a news magazine, two TV outlets, a J-school, a foreign policy journal and a political action committee, he says "this [job] was the most interesting.".. Rosemary Armao , the education editor who wrote about an unusual joint reporting project by Virginia's four major dailies in our December issue, leaves Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot on February 1 to become executive director of Investigative Reporters & Editors .

Inside Magazines

Columbia University names author and essayist Roger Rosenblatt as director of the George T. Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism and editor in chief of Columbia Journalism Review . Suzanne Braun Levine remains as editor. Rosenblatt has been a columnist at Life , editor of U.S. News & World Report and a senior writer at Time , among other positions... New Yorker cartoonist Art Spiegelman retreats into self-imposed exile from the weekly after Editor Tina Brown vetoes his cover illustration of Santa drawing a Christmas tree in the snow by urinating... Bill Regardie says his namesake Washington business magazine will return in January, a year after losses totaling $500,000 forced it to close... Three teen titles debut: Mouth2Mouth (touted by Time Inc. execs as a mix of Vanity Fair and Mad ), Quake (a Welsh Publishing project that has been compared to People ) and Tell (a joint venture by Hachette and NBC).

Inside Newspapers

Sue Byrom , who said in December's Bylines that it had "been a rough couple of weeks" amid cutbacks at Her New York , resigns after disagreements with management. She was the paper's third editor in two months. Editor No. 4: Meme Black , promoted from the Style section... The Los Angeles Times hires veteran food writer S. Irene
Virbila as restaurant critic. She succeeds Ruth Reichl , now at the New York Times ... Thomson Newspapers promotes regional reporter Randall Wynn to Washington news editor. He replaces Paul Furiga , now senior editor of Thomson's Ohio Week ... Steve Wilson , formerly editor of the Scottsdale Progess , joins the Arizona Republic as a columnist, not the Phoenix Gazette , as we reported in October. And in November, a San Francisco Chronicle source said 125 employees were expected to take buyouts. The actual number was 59.