search citypaper.net
  

					Also this issue: A New D-Hole Artist and activist Albo Jeavons takes on the Disney divot. -Daniel Brook Ring Up the King There are thousands of names in the Philadelphia phone book. One of them is Elvis Presley. -Jenn Carbin Made Music Man The Philadelphia confluence of gangsters and gangstas. -Brendan McGarvey Chow, Fun -Mary F. Patel

August 15-21, 2002

on media

Commissioner Gordon

Surprising many, Inquirer editor puts insider Anne Gordon in charge of policing the paper’s operations.

by Deborah Bolling

Ending a seven-month search, Inquirer editor Walker Lundy announced on Monday that Anne Gordon, former associate managing editor, will be the paper’s new managing editor.

Gordon, who becomes the 174-year-old newspaper's first female managing editor, joined the staff in April 1999 as the arts and entertainment editor. In May 2000, she was promoted to deputy managing editor. The managing editor's post has been vacant since Philip Dixon's departure in January.

"I think the reason I got this job is because I was both an inside and an outside candidate," Gordon says. "I've worked at a lot of different newspapers and I've seen things done lots of different ways with some very wonderful results. I take on all kinds of challenges. That's always served me well in this business."

As the announcement was being made, Lundy also issued a company-wide interoffice memo explaining his selection process.

"As you know," Lundy writes, "I have carried out a thorough national search to fill this job. I spoke to quite a few candidates from a diverse pool of editors from papers large and small. ... I'm convinced Anne is the best person for the job.

"Initially, my instinct was to go outside for a managing editor and I spent a lot of time trying to do that. To help change the paper while keeping the best of the historic Inquirer culture, I thought someone with a fresh view would be best."

Gordon, considered a newcomer by many, is credited with helping to salvage the Inky's tanking Sunday magazine a few years ago. Prior to that, for five years, she was the Sunday magazine editor at The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Word is that some staffers have concerns that Gordon's expertise leans more toward features than hard news.

"Hard news is definitely important," Gordon says, "but all stories are full of lots of ideas and we need to examine hard news and look below the surface. We need to make all the stories as sharp as they can be every day."

Annette John-Hall, a long-time Inky features reporter who worked with Gordon, says her department doesn't doubt the new ME's competency for the post.

"I think the people in news are a little skeptical because they don't know her," John-Hall says. "But Anne has the right combination of being new and knowing what's going on. A new person will want to start a new Inquirer culture and she'll be good at that. Anne's gonna have to take a lot of people out to lunch to learn their concerns, but there is a sense of relief that at least someone we know got the job."

For months, staffers speculated that Lundy would select a managing editor from the outside. As recently as six weeks ago, Lundy told the staff that he had hoped to hire Mark Lett, an editor at a Columbia, S.C., newspaper, but was disappointed when he learned that Lett's wife did not want to move to Philadelphia. At the Monday meeting, Lundy said that all along he was looking for someone who did not have the "institutional memory."

Last week, deputy managing editor Hank Klibanoff, who has been with the paper for about 20 years, announced that he was leaving to accept a managing editor's position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Georgia. Klibanoff had applied for the ME's post at the Inquirer, but was rejected.

"There were two very, very qualified candidates for this position and both ended up with very good jobs," Gordon says, referring to herself and Klibanoff. "Hank is a very strong editor and he has southern roots, so that'll help him in Atlanta."

Since July 30, change has been steady at the Inky. Many members of the Newspaper Guild, the union for editorial staffers, are still unhappy about the massive overhaul taking place on Oct. 1, which will affect the entire editorial staff. To accommodate the paper's largest readership, Lundy has redirected many of the paper's resources to the suburbs; 40 new positions have been created for this purpose. But in order to afford the new batch of reporters, part of the plan calls for firing 10 part-time editorial assistants. Just before the Gordon announcement, Guild leadership met with upper management to discuss what members are calling the "critical issues."

"It was a productive meeting, but like everything in labor relations, progress is slow," says Henry Holcomb, Philadelphia Guild president. "We feel we got listened to about certain critical situations and about how things are being handled. People are still very angry about the layoffs, but these are very complicated issues. It was a good meeting, but there's a lot left to be done."

In her new role, Gordon will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the newspaper, requiring her to work with all departments -- and the Guild.

"Everyone is saddened that we had to reduce one area in order to beef up another," Gordon says, referring to the layoffs. "I understand how painful this is for everyone, but you have to decide which pile of work has to be tackled first. At this time, reportage is our most important mandate. Right now, we're humming. I have great hopes that in six months, everything will be smoothed out and that in a year, we'll be very proud of our coverage. I know we've heard it all before, but it's never been so concrete as actually redirecting the work force. This time I think things will be different."

Also this week: Guild reacts to Lundy's suburban coverage plan

-- Respond to this article in our Forums -- click to jump there