Bylines   

Crash Landing

New Chicago Tribune Editor Howard Tyner fires military affairs reporter David Evans , saying the paper no longer needs concentrated coverage of the Pentagon. Sources say Evans, who joined the paper in 1987 after 20 years in the Marines, was dismissed after Tyner came to Washington to assure staffers that no cutbacks were planned. An hour later, after being called to Tyner's hotel room, Evans was told his position was being eliminated. Tyner did not return phone messages. Says Washington-based columnist Clarence Page , "It certainly shook people up here. It's very, very unusual for the Tribune to fire anyone."

Across and Down

The New York Times hires Will Shortz , formerly editor of Games , to oversee the daily crossword. He succeeds Eugene Maleska , who died in August. Shortz says he plans to "modernize" the puzzles with more words related to pop culture, brand names, current events and slang. "I don't like stupid obscure words that describe Brazilian coins or shrubs in Thailand," he says, although journalists should not worry about losing words such as "stet" and "dele" (that little squiggly you use to take out a word). "They're safe," Shortz says. The recurring "atua" (Polynesian demons), however, will now be used only in emergencies. Elsewhere at the Times, Sunday drama critic David Richards takes over as chief drama critic, succeeding Frank Rich , who moves to op-ed. Vincent Canby , chief film critic since 1969, becomes Sunday drama critic; he's succeeded by Janet Maslin . And sadly, Assistant National Editor Jeffrey Schmalz , who during the past three years wrote eloquently about AIDS, died from complications of the disease at age 39.

Reporter Moves West

Keith Schneider , whose New York Times reporting on dioxin has come under question (see AJR, June), becomes a correspondent based near Traverse City, Michigan. Schneider says his new contract allows him to cover the environment for the Times three weeks of every four while tending his 90-acre farm and doing freelance work. Schneider and National Editor Linda Mathews say the move had nothing to do with a March story he wrote that was followed by two unusual corrections. Four months after Schneider reported that South Carolina had no acid rain, the Times told readers he had misstated a federal study; six weeks later, a second correction noted that "there is a scientific consensus that South Carolina indeed has acid rain." Says Mathews, "In all of the discussions about having a correspondent outside one of our regional bureaus, nobody once said, 'How about the mistakes that have been made?' " Mathews says she and others had suggested to Max Frankel that Schneider be reassigned as a roving reporter, "but that was too unconventional" for the executive editor. Tax reporter Jack Cushman , meanwhile, takes over the Washington environmental beat.

Editor Fired Over Drug Test

Florida's twice-weekly North Port Sun Herald fires Editor Valarie Gouthro Harring after she refuses to submit to a new policy allowing the paper to take random drug tests by urinalysis. Harring, a vegetarian who says she does not drink, smoke or use illegal drugs, argues that the policy violates her civil rights and that "the only bodily fluid that should be required of employees is sweat." Derek Dunn-Rankin , president of parent Sun Coast Media , says the policy was initiated by testing all 269 employees at its six western Florida papers. "We felt a drug-free workplace was important," he says. "We'd like to test for alcohol as well, but we're not ready to go into blood tests."

A Name Cleared

Gene Ballinger , 58, a former editor at New Mexico's weekly Lordsburg Liberal , wins a 13-year battle with the state's judicial system when a federal appeals court overturns his 1980 murder conviction. A jury had found Ballinger guilty based on the testimony of John Rizzo , who said he had seen Ballinger march the victim away at gunpoint. Rizzo, who was granted immunity to testify, told the jury that he was able to lead police to the body and weapon not because he was the killer, but because he had learned the information by hanging a pendulum over a map and "dowsing" for the remote locations. Ballinger, who completed a four-year prison term, began work as editor of the weekly Courier in Hatch, New Mexico, the day of his 1990 release. "When something like this happens to you, especially in our business, you come to appreciate the hell [unjustly convicted] people go through," he says. "Any time a court makes a decision, I take a long, deep look to see why."

Out West

The Sacramento Union drops its frequency to three days a week – Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – and lays off 12 newsroom employees. Although circulation hovered around 100,000 during much of the last two decades, it has since dropped to just 35,000. Editor Kenneth Harvey , a 27-year veteran, says the reduced schedule is "a little hard to get used to. Some days the office is real quiet." The paper is now emphasizing commentary, he says. Among other changes, it adds nine rotating columns by readers, including a housewife, a student and a salesman... Peter Bhatia , former managing editor at the Sacramento Bee , takes the same position at the Oregonian . He leaves the Fresno Bee , where he had been named executive editor just a few weeks earlier... The Seattle Post-Intelligencer hires Managing Editor Kenneth Bunting , most recently a senior editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram . He replaces Kerry Slagle , who moves to Florida to start a business... Bill Smith retires after 34 years at the Albuquerque Journal , during which he wrote page one copy at least 5,600 times but never received a byline. Smith, 62, composed a quip each day for the "Good Morning" box. "When Congress was considering a hike in the gas tax," he recalls, "I suggested they just tax the gas in Congress."

Back East

Columnist Doug Ireland leaves the Village Voice after a dispute with Editor Jonathan Larsen . While Larsen did not return phone messages and Ireland declined comment, a source says the editor felt "Press Clips" should include more reporting and less political commentary. Ireland also had directed barbs at Larsen's wife, Jane Amsterdam , after she led a failed effort to launch a Sunday edition of the New York Post and later joined ABC 's "Day One," a show Ireland hated. Larsen told the New York Observer that criticisms of his wife had nothing to do with Ireland's departure... Her New York , former New York Post almost-owner Steven Hoffenberg 's latest project, falters. Launched on October 1, the paper has since dropped from daily to weekly publication, doubled its price from 50 cents to $1, and layed off 25 of 60 employees. Says Sue Byrom , a Post veteran and now the paper's third new editor, "It's been a rough couple of weeks.".. Karen Grassmuck , formerly deputy managing editor of States News Service in Washington, D.C., joins Thomson Newspapers as a correspondent there.

Los Angeles Times

The Times announces a buyout program to reduce the staffs of three twice-weekly zoned sections, which will now appear weekly. The paper hopes to cut 100 positions, adding to the 660 eliminated after a similar buyout last year. Meanwhile, the Times increases the frequency of its Spanish-language section, Nuestro Tiempo , which becomes a weekly after appearing 15 times since its 1989 debut. New Editor Sergio Muñoz , a former bureau chief for Univision television, heads a staff of 10.

You Oughtta Be in Pictures

Once journalists aspired to be screenwriters (see AJR, November 1992); nowadays, they want to act. In Ron Howard 's new film about a fictitious tabloid, "The Paper," Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter plays himself at a party talking with the paper's publisher, portrayed by Jason Robards . The most recent of several other magazine editors to land small roles: Premiere 's Chris Connelly , who appeared as an MTV reporter quizzing Whitney Houston in "The Bodyguard."

Television Feeds

NBC plans to launch "News Desktop" next year after tests at five sites. Developed with IBM, "Desktop" enables clients to retrieve news clips on their computer screens using menu guides. The network also debuts a financial news feed to 400 subscribers that NBC New Media head Mike Wheeler describes as "a C-SPAN for pension fund managers.".. Star Jones , the former assistant district attorney in Brooklyn who joined NBC last year as a legal affairs reporter (see Bylines, April 1992), departs to host the syndicated "Jones & Jury." Jones will rule on real-life disputes, a la Judge Wapner.

On the Drawing Board

Just when you thought it was safe – more TV newsmagazines in the works. Time Warner is developing a program called "Zines," based on underground publications that cover topics such as politics, music and pop culture (see AJR, April). And ZM Productions has completed a pilot for a syndicated show aimed at twentysomethings. Because ZM couldn't get approval to use "Generation X" (the title of a bestselling book) or "Zine" (Time Warner had dibs), the program is as yet unnamed. Publicist Jeff Mackler describes the show's format as "a cross between '60 Minutes' and MTV ."

Even More TV Choices

No sooner had Paramount and Chris Craft announced plans to launch a new network in early 1995 than Warner Brothers and Tribune Broadcasting team up for one of their own, scheduled to hit the airwaves a few months earlier. With some 280 local stations not affiliated with a network, the two upstarts have plenty of executives to wine and dine. Both plan to debut with two hours of entertainment programs two nights a week.