Alex Taylor, publisher of the Palm Beach Post, announced his departure today just as the newsroom braces for more layoffs. Taylor has been on the job for just over eight months. He replaced Doug Franklin, the publisher who oversaw the axing of about 300 people from the paper last year.
Taylor says his departure doesn't mean the paper will be sold or shut down. The email he sent to Post employees follows the jump.
The other piece of news is that I'll unfortunately be moving on. I have been assigned to oversee the company's businesses in Ohio. It's a great opportunity in a market where we own TV, Radio and Newspapers in the same place. However, in a perfect world this is not the time I would choose to leave. So much hard work is being done right now in Palm Beach and I really want to be here to see it all through. The last 2 years has been the most challenging time this organization has ever been through. Together the people in this building have made monumental changes to the business model and the stability of our organization. I am so proud of the changes that have occurred and I want to be here in 2010 to enjoy it. But duty calls and I'll be heading on to Ohio.
In the meantime, while Bob Neil selects a replacement for me, Chuck Gerardi will be on point. Chuck's been with the organization through thick and thin and there could not be a steadier hand at the wheel. Chuck, Tim and Christopher will each continue to lead their respective departments on a daily basis and nothing should change concerning what you're all working on.
Many of you may have questions about what this means for you. In practicality, this means very little in the immediate sense. In the long-term, the company will focus more on moving management talent around our businesses more. Media companies are often guilty of acting in silos. Newspaper people do newspaper things. TV people do TV things, but we can each bring some fresh insight into each other's businesses. Did you know that Cox has 24 other media businesses in Florida - TV, Radio and all the talented people that work at each? The opportunities abound.
What this does NOT mean is that the Post is for sale, merging with other businesses, shutting down or any other rumor the goes around from time to time. In fact, the Post is on a brisk path to recovery and I believe will be in very solid financial shape going forward. Still, I would like to answer any questions you may have and show you the organizational chart and some metrics of how well we're doing.
I'll hold 3 meetings in the Auditorium for anyone who wants to attend today:
10am - Content, News, Digital (Tim Burke's team)
2pm - Ops (Christopher Caneles' team)
4:30 - Revenue (Chuck Gerardi's team)
See you there, and sincerely, thank you all for so much resilience, hard work and focus this year. It is paying off.
Alex
Alex Taylor
Publisher
