Thread by @RobertGehrke

So you mighta seen the news yesterday that the @sltrib editor, @jnpearce had resigned.

It came as a real shock. And I wanted to take a little time to process it before I posted. So I did that and then I had a few drinks, so here goes ….

Let’s start here … I wasn’t sold on Jennifer when she took the job. I liked her very much and knew she was very capable. But her background was mainly radio, not print. And I didn’t know what to expect.

On top of that, I loved Terry Orme, and hated the way he was treated.

I got over that pretty quickly. It didn’t take long to understand her smarts her skill and her love for news won me over.

It was a VERY hard job, trying to not just keep the broken down old jalopy running but rebuild it on the fly into a racecar. She handled it remarkably well.

After yet another round of layoffs, she put talented people in places where they could succeed. She reinvented the paper as the nation’s first legacy publication to go non-profit. Something I particularly liked, she tried to make the paper an integral part of the community.

And I should note that she gave an aging, broken-down reporter a shot at trying something different. For the first year, I regretted doing it. She probably regretted it too. Now I only kinda regret it. (That last part is a joke).

The old jalopy has a lot of work that needs to be done, but she left it better than she found it.

We will miss her leadership and her advocacy on behalf of her newsroom and, by extension, our readers.

So now what?

Here’s the part that might get me fired.

At her departure, she referenced differences with Paul Huntsman regarding coverage and management that “sharpened over the last six months.”

This is deeply troubling to me.

I’m going to break some news here, but Paul’s brother Jon ran for governor.

I have heard there was displeasure from the top at our coverage of the campaign, she was the human shield that insulated us from that.

Our reporters were pros and did their jobs.

What worries me more is what’s next. If you’re a kid who comes home from school one day and finds out mom moved out unexpectedly, there’s something happening you don’t understand but will change your life soon.

This next part is mostly speculation …

After sleeping on it, I deleted the speculation. I know, it’s out there and people can see it. But I shouldn’t speculate on Jennifer’s motives, like I wouldn’t want people speculating about mine. I’m sorry @jnpearce for having done that.

As a (one-time) reporter, I should have asked the questions, not speculated. So here are the questions I think Paul and the Trib board need to answer …
• How much did our coverage of the governor’s race contribute to the conflicts between Paul and Jennifer?

• To what extent did that lead to her resignation?
• What will the board do to protect the independence of our reporting in the future?
• With the joint-operating agreement expiring at the end of the year, what is the plan? Will there continue to be a print edition?

The newspaper is at a critical juncture right now. Probably more critical with her departure.

In the meantime, we’re going to put our heads down and produce the best newspaper we are capable of producing, because that’s what Jennifer would want from us.