Monday, August 11, 2008
News AJC editors mum on sudden departures
Posted by Ken Edelstein on Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 4:07 PM
Two of the three high-ranking Atlanta Journal-Constitution editors who suddenly left the paper 10 days ago declined this morning to shed much light on their departures.
"I’m not at liberty to discuss that," said Chris Stanfield, who until Aug. 1 was the paper's top photo editor. Stanfield referred to his departure — along with the departures of senior editor for Sunday and planning Robert Mashburn and digital planning editor Virginia Lewis — as a “private matter."
“I would prefer not to comment on that," said Mashburn, who like Stanfield was reached via cellphone.
Moments after Editor Julia Wallace's Aug. 1 announcement that 73 newsroom employees had agreed to take a downsizing buyout, AJC staff members were stunned to learn separately that Mashburn, Stanfield and Lewis had left the paper — apparently involuntarily. At least one of the three was seen being escorted out of the building.
As I wrote earlier, Mashburn’s departure was particularly surprising because he was one of the two point people for “AJC 2.0,” a long-awaited redesign of the paper.
Wildly varying rumors about the cause of their departures — ranging from the personal to the professional — spread all last week through the newsroom. But everyone I spoke with confessed that they had no direct knowledge of what happened.
AJC spokeswoman Mary Dugenske wouldn’t comment, saying it was a personnel matter. Wallace still hasn't even responded.
Lewis hasn't returned telephone messages, but Stanfield did share a little bit. He wished his colleagues at the AJC well and said he's "not sure" what his next move will be.
Comments (12)
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Old news. And if you want to know why they were fired, you can find out here: http://mostlymedia.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/loyalty-leaking-out-of-ajc-as-well-as-staff/
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As is typical in these matters, nothing is as high brow is it's made out to be. Now I'm hearing it all went, uh, down at the Pink Pony. Breasts, quite large ones apparently, were bared on bars, and "affairs" occurred. Cox co. gear was supposedly involved in the transmission of some knocker images, and reputations were lost, or won perhaps, depending on what you think of three seriously wasted journo-geeks at the strip clubs all prancing around showing their drunk dumb asses off.
It always frosts my ass when journalists, who demand comment from everyone, clam up when they are in the news. You think you oughta re-write this based on the new information?
Don't believe everything you read on blogsites -- and by that I mean the erroneous information Mostlymedia.com is reporting. The rumor that the three were fired because of a strip club incident is just that, a rumor. The rumor that the three were fired for trying to start a side business on company dime is also just a rumor. The actual reason is far more salacious and serious. Keep digging; you will get there.
I certainly hope the truth does not get in the way of all this delicious whisperin', but if you know more, you should start telling more. No need to hold back in the digital age, hon. We all re-invent ourselves, on the hour, 'round here. Proving yet again that Hemingway WAS a better writer than Fitzgerald, but I diverge...
Bunk: If you have any good leads you'd like to share please e-mail me at ken.edelstein@creativeloafing.com. Thanks, Ken
It is also very suspicious that that AJC has not reported on the S&M divorce trial of Andrew Fisher, President of Cox Television, nor of the facts that Cox executives, including James Cox Kennedy, were subpeonaed in the case. Smells like a cover-up. Could this be the reason. Maybe journalists want to report the news for a change. If that is so, I applaud them.
I worked for Andy Fisher. Trust me he is a sadist. While the entire Atlanta media community has been silent on Andy's S&M conduct two employees at AJC are "let go" for their sexual misconduct...Fisher into his "Slave/Master" sex and Stanfied & Mashburn flaunting Cox logos at strip clubs.. We are laughing our butts off. I've never seen news travel so fast from coast to coast and yet the Atlanta media is strangely silent on the whole sexual sex-capades of Cox Employees.
what happened to the "private life/personal matter" defense? If it was ok for Clinton, it should be just fine for these folks.
Trust me, the reason these people were let go is closer to what Bunk says - not for any good journalism they were trying to do. The strip club is a rumor. The new company is a rumor. The answer lies deeper and its far more insidious. Perhaps the camera man is where the key to all of this lies?
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