T&G Shakeup

Big changes over on Front Street. First, there was the news that a few well-respected editorial staffers are among those taking the New York Times buyout offer. Mark Melady, Jean Laquidara Hill, and music guy Scott McLennan are all reportedly on their way out. (For more on McLennan, check out this week’s Cookie column)

Then there is the news of a major restructuring in how the Telegram will be set up with a reduced editorial crew. In a presentation to employees in May, Telegram Editor Harry Whitin presented a new plan that would shutter a few regional bureaus and realign remaining editorial staffers into new “pods.” “The Telegram & Gazette needs to move to an 18/5 model (18 hours per day/5 days per week), allowing us to focus on a more continuous news cycle with special emphasis on Web reporting,” a copy of his presentation reads. “Additionally, we need to plan a production cycle that guarantees 5:30 a.m. delivery for all home-delivery customers. To that end we envision changing some assignments to enable us to better serve the Web, and produce an earlier print product.”

What do the changes mean? The Telegram will now be divided into three zones: North, Central and South; it’s unknown which bureaus will close, but it changes a current four-region set-up, and one that had six divisions in 2005. In terms of reporters, Harry Whitin’s presentation lays out a realignment that will divide staffers into a Web/breaking news team (four reporters) in charge of police, courts, and breaking news out of the Worcester office; an issues/beats reporting team (eight reporters) responsible for daily “pod” and regional stories based around broad issues; a general news/central team (nine reporters) responsible for general news and features in Worcester and the surrounding towns; a watchdog/government group (four reporters) that would “report on matters of wrongdoing,” and would include State House and City Hall reporters, and any reporters on rotation. Lastly, a North/South office team of nine reporters would cover general news out of towns in the North and South County.