After years at the helm during a particularly stormy part of the Courant’s history, Naedine Hazell is stepping down as editor; and Andrew Julien, a longtime newsroom veteran, is stepping up, the newspaper has announced.
I hope it is only coincidence that this change in command comes as the nation’s oldest continuously published newspaper sheds more journalists and appears to still be on a downward trajectory. Naedine has drunk her share of company Kool-Aid during her tenure, but has always demonstrated her decency, good judgement and fundamental integrity. I also hope it is not her health that prompts this move, though moving off the hot seat can certainly cut down on the stress experienced by someone who has had an issue with her heart.
Andrew is a fine and skillful journalist, too; but may not find himself held in the same warm regard as his predecessor. It is a rough job being the captain of a sinking ship. If he is a student of history, he will be mindful that few Courant editors have enjoyed long careers in the position.
Andrew’s carefully drafted public statement about his goals and objectives sounds some nice notes, but that becomes increasingly harder as the staff grows smaller and every employee feels like he or she could be the next turned out.
On the other hand, the Courant’s remaining journalists are some of the finest in America. It is hard to stop them from doing what they do so well.
Shawn Courchesne, the Courant’s expert on all things NASCAR, is taking the entrepreneurial route as he leaves the company.
Here’s what he writes in this farewell piece:
In the not too distant future, hopefully within a month or so, I will be launching a new website devoted to motorsports that will have a focus on covering the New England racing scene. I’m excited and I’m terrified, but I know this, I can’t wait to pour myself into this project.
The Camp stands ready to assist any way it can, Shawn; so send in a link to the new site as soon as you can.
Bruce DeSilva, former Courant investigative reporter and the paper’s only writing coach, has a new novel out.
I just read a Columbia Journalism review piece by Courant alum Kira Goldenberg that names eight of the nine journalists who have decided to take the buyouts offered by Tribune. Kira shares the sentiment felt by most of us newsroom vets who wince at the way the place has been slowly disassembled.
Goldenberg reports that my former chums Mary Wilson and Sandra James have elected to leave. They were running the reader-generated-content operation we started together just before I bailed. They are seasoned veterans who, I hope, are able to find new (and better) outlets for their considerable talents. Funneling articles and photos sent by readers into the newspaper is the least of what they are capable.
Shawn Courchesne is also named. I would be surprised if one of the big national sports operations didn’t scoop him up. His popularity on the NASCAR beat was pretty phenomenal, as I recall.
I’ve already said Susan Campbell’s departure will be a monumental loss of character for the paper. Rock critic Eric Danton’s loss and that of Mark Spencer, a skilled and sophisticated writer, will be a similar loss of identity for a publication that has been stripped of too many voices.
Harder for the public to notice will be the loss of night editor Nancy Gallinger, who has elevated the work of many a reporter and often kept them out of trouble; and newsroom assistant Lynne Maston, who has kept the wheels turning more smoothly for many years.
I have no doubt that even in the fear and numbness induced by years of painful layoffs, their colleagues will feel the void left by all these departures.
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