Fresh Loaf

Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor Julia Wallace hasn’t talked publicly about three high-level editors who left the paper suddenly on Aug. 1. But she did tell AJC staff members Friday who’ll replace two of the departed editors.

Melissa Turner takes over for Robert Mashburn as senior editor for Sunday’s print edition, and Quindelda McElroy replaces Virginia Lewis as senior coordinator/planning for the digital department. Mashburn, Lewis and top photo editor Chris Stanfield left the paper suddenly on Aug. 1 for undisclosed reasons.

Wallace lumped those two changes together with 10 new assignments connected to the newsroom’s recently announced buyout of 73 staff members. In her memo, which I wrote about Saturday (but got later from business journalism blogger Chris Roush), Wallace and Managing Editor James Mallory say they’ll announce a lot more staff reshuffling today.

Among the other assignments, Public Editor Angela Tuck becomes chief of the Cobb bureau, where almost all the staff members took the buyout. That answers a question from my earlier post, which reported that longtime business editor reporter Matt Kempner would be the paper’s new public editor.

Full text of the memo after the jump.

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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. (more…)

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Today’s bound to be less exciting than last Friday was in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Marietta Street newsroom.

First, editor Julia Wallace announced that 73 newsroom staff members had taken a buyout as part of the paper’s downsizing. Then, newsroom staff members were astounded by viewing bits and pieces of a personnel drama that ended with three high-ranking editors suddenly leaving the paper. (See update here.)

Robert Mashburn, a former sports editor whose most recent title was senior Sunday and planning editor, was seen quickly walking out of the building; according to staff members, he hasn’t been back since. Virginia Lewis, a former features editor who most recently was planning editor for the digital department, and Chris Stanfield, who joined the AJC staff in 2004 as director of photography, also departed the paper.

Each of the three were high-ranking editors, described by one employee as among Wallace’s “annointed ones.” Mashburn’s departure was particularly surprising (more…)

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