Newsday News   

Reporter Roy Gutman heads to Newsweek; editors John Mancini, Debby Krenek and editorial cartoonist Walt Handelsman join the staff.

New York's Newsday loses one, snags three top catches. Foreign affairs reporter Roy Gutman leaves after 19-plus years with the paper to join Newsweek, while Newsday hires the New York Post's John Mancini, former N.Y. Daily News Editor Debby Krenek and Walt Handelsman, of New Orleans' Times-Picayune. Mancini, 40, says farewell to his metro editor job at the Post to become metropolitan editor of Newsday's City edition, a focus of much beefing up. The goal, says Newsday Editor Tony Marro, is "to become the largest-selling paper in Queens." Meanwhile, Krenek, who stepped down as Daily News editor in chief in March 2000, takes on the new associate editor for special projects job. Her first task: developing a new Web site devoted to New York City. Krenek, 45, spent some time as chief creative officer of PetPlace.com but says she's "very excited" about her return to newspaperdom. Editorial cartoonist Handelsman, 44, moves his craft from New Orleans to Long Island, replacing Doug Marlette, who wanted to explore other projects. Gutman, 56, who has won a bunch of foreign reporting awards including the coveted Pulitzer, takes up residence in Newsweek's Washington bureau as diplomatic correspondent. He calls his time at Newsday "a terrific run.... It was possible to do great journalism, and I took advantage of it. But, you know, you need to change every once in a while, and you need to go into a new challenge."