On top of that, I loved Terry Orme, and hated the way he was treated.
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.
We will miss her leadership and her advocacy on behalf of her newsroom and, by extension, our readers.
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 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.
This next part is mostly speculation …
• How much did our coverage of the governor’s race contribute to the conflicts between Paul and Jennifer?
• 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?
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.