Same Differences   

Citing the familiar refrain of "differences with the publisher," Steven A. Smith resigns as editor of the Gazette in Colorado Springs.

Citing the familiar refrain of "differences with the publisher," Steven A. Smith resigns after four years as editor of the Gazette in Colorado Springs. A leader in the civic journalism movement, Smith, 49, conducted news meetings in the center of the newsroom, sought minority perspectives and invited reader critiques. He oversaw a redesign, introduced in late November, which targets nontraditional readers. The paper, Smith says, now has "less emphasis on creative writing and more on tight, information-packed writing." The move was in part a bid to bolster declining circulation figures. Publisher and President Scott Fischer, who came to the Freedom Communications Inc. paper in January 1999, did not respond to phone calls. Under Smith, disenchantment had grown in the newsroom, some staffers suggest. Veteran reporter Rich Laden blames him for "low morale and higher-than-normal turnover." He recalls a brown-bag lunch last summer at which Smith "admitted to the newsroom that he had started a rumor [months earlier] that the paper would be sold to Gannett" to see how gossip traveled. (Smith says he did not start the rumor, calling it a "practical joke" among top editors.) A former employee accuses Smith of "moving people around just to see what would happen. It was human chess." But, that person adds, "To his credit, he promoted a lot of women." Smith says he'll take off at least three months before determining his next step.