The Boston Globe announced major changes in its newsroom yesterday, including the departures of award-winning business columnist Steve Bailey, executive editor Helen W. Donovan, and deputy managing editor Michael J. Larkin, each of whom has been at the newspaper since the 1970s, as well as the elevation of page-one editor Caleb Solomon to the Globe's number-two editing post.
The trio of exits reflects a changing of the guard at the Globe, where the institutional memory and community knowledge of Bailey, Donovan, and Larkin made them dominant players for years. The promotions of Solomon and two other high-level editors come during a period of significant change for the paper as it rapidly adapts to an online digital media environment. The staff changes will take effect by April 1.
Ellen Clegg, 57, currently deputy managing editor of the Sunday paper, will replace Larkin, 57, as deputy managing editor of news operations, a position that oversees the paper during the evening. Mark S. Morrow, 54, a deputy managing editor who oversees the newspaper's special projects and Spotlight Team, will take over Clegg's Sunday role and retain his oversight of projects and the investigative group.
Bailey, 57, who in his three decades at the Globe has earned a reputation as one of its most dogged reporters and widely read columnists, will move to London to join Bloomberg News as a senior enterprise editor, "finally yielding to his wife's wish" that his family live closer to her home country of France, according to an internal memo by editor Martin Baron announcing the staff changes.
Solomon, 49, will succeed Donovan, assuming the role of managing editor/news and retaining his duties as the editor responsible for page-one stories. In his new position, Solomon, a former Globe business editor, and former reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal, will "help lead an inevitable transformation of our newsroom," Baron said in his memo, referring to a radical shift underway in mainstream media.
The management changes come at a time of upheaval for the newspaper industry, which is suffering financially as readers and advertisers migrate rapidly to the Internet. Last month, the Globe's publisher, Steve Ainsley, said the newspaper is looking to cut 60 positions through voluntary buyouts as part of a broader cost-cutting effort at the company.
The Globe is owned by The
Amid this grim financial landscape, newspapers are heavily focused on how to adapt to a world in which readers increasingly get their news online. At the Globe, collective efforts to integrate the paper's print and online newsgathering functions will be a major responsibility for Solomon, who has a bachelor's degree in English from Columbia College and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
"The Globe as a news organization needs to change so we can thrive in the future instead of limp along and struggle mightily as we are now," said Solomon, who was assistant managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe, based in Brussels, before coming to the Globe. "So I want to engage all the creativity and smarts and passion and journalistic talent within our newsroom and the rest of this organization to figure this out - and figure this out fast."
Donovan, 60, has been at the Globe for 32 years, serving as executive editor since 1993. In his memo, Baron described her as a "truly remarkable person" who "envisions the big picture but also is a master of detail" and "an inspired editor who never wavers in her insistence on the highest standards."
Donovan said yesterday she feels "equal parts excitement and terror" about her post-Globe life, and hopes to become more involved in a Boston women's homeless shelter where she is a volunteer. She also said she may consider working for a nonprofit organization.
Michael Larkin, whom Baron described as "a pillar of sanity, sound judgment, and high standards," arrived at the Globe in 1974. A father and grandfather, Larkin said he has been planning on retiring for a while and intends to use some of his newfound free time to "play with my grandkids more than I have and have dinner with my wife."
With Bailey's departure, the Globe loses one of its marquee columnists, as well as an influential voice in business, civic, and political circles.
Throughout his career at the paper, which began in 1977, he has repeatedly broken news and influenced public opinion. Bailey's wife, who is French, has wanted to return to Europe for some time, so moving to London, he said, was "a good compromise."
Baron, 53, called Bailey's move overseas "a big loss for us."
"He's an amazingly good journalist - intrepid, dogged, persistent - and he always comes back with the big story, and that's hard to replace," said Baron in an interview, adding that the paper has not yet addressed whether to fill Bailey's position.
Of his new job, Bailey said: "I'm full of anxiety, but you know what? My wife knows that every day I'm full of anxiety about my next column, so imagine what it's like changing jobs after 30 years."
"I love the Globe, I love Boston, and I have one of the best jobs in Boston," he added. "The Globe is in great hands with all the people here."
Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com.
