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.

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.

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.

Let’s save the teeth-gnashing and bemoaning and/or commiserating until the shoe has finally dropped, but certainly when she leaves, a huge part of the Courant’s personality leaves with her.

I faced this same decision years ago when the company was twice as generous with its severance package and half as desperate. I hope, for the sake of younger journalists, that there are some veterans like me who can afford to jump ship and would enjoy it. I missed (and still sometimes miss) the camaraderie of the newsroom, but am glad I  did not have to witness the daily disintegration and dismemberment of such a fine and powerful operation.

Still, I am sure that the many people who were forced out then and since have endured many months of uncertainty  and, in many cases, have not yet recovered from the loss financially or in their pursuit of a career.   Journalists are an intelligent and adaptable bunch, but I would not wish the difficulties of transition on anyone — least of all my former colleagues who have mortgages to pay and children to put through college.

If I were in their shoes, I would put my head down and hope the scythe  misses me once again while I look for a less painful way out.

And one other reminder for those who must decide who goes: Bank your bonus, because your odds of being next grow larger with every person you dismiss.

His work now appears  regularly on Salon.com.

Good for him.

Anyway, $45 million wouldn’t have saved that many jobs anyway. Probably no more than a thousand for only a year — but those would have been crappy $45,000-a-year jobs.

Sunday circulation for March appears to be down about 3.2 percent — that’s a loss of 6,363 copies out of 197,407 a year earlier. Saturday circulation is up 1.5 percent to  138,195; but most other days are down slightly. Average daily circulation is off 2.4 percent to 132,006.

The numbers for Bristol and New Britain are really small.  The only good news for print is that the New London Day appears to be bucking the trend by showing some substantial growth in daily readership.

Check out what Carolyn Moreau and Michael Kodas are up to.