Florida Today's next editor will have a tough act to follow, based on the comments I've read about Terry Eberle, the newly appointed top editor at The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla."Eberle is a class act,'' one reader said yesterday, after his move was announced. "Many Gannett editors at larger papers won't give the time of day to editors at smaller papers. Eberle treated all as equals and was always willing to share advice. He doesn't lead with his ego like many in top editing ranks at Gannett metros do. His record at Florida Today is a good one. He's one of the best editors in the company -- part of a cadre of quality folks that is diminishing in numbers by the day."
A lauded editor, at a bigger paper
Eberle will now lead the newsroom of a somewhat larger paper: The News-Press' daily circulation is about 84,000 vs. 79,000 at Brevard. Sundays, it's about 101,000 vs. 95,000. I don't know the cast of possible Eberle successors at Today or at other Gannett papers. Anyone want to take some guesses?
Employees aren't the only ones who've lauded Eberle's work, of course. He tied for editor of the year in the 2006 Best of Gannett awards. Judges noted the speed with which Today switched to the then-new Information Center model. “In a year of extensive transition, Terry provided outstanding leadership. . . . It was a remarkable job,'' their citation said.He's bound for another Florida paper that grew in stature within Gannett for its early work on the Information Center model. Under the editor Eberle replaces -- Kate Marymont, now in Corporate's News Department -- the News-Press became the public face of GCI's efforts to merge online and print news gathering: The Washington Post featured the paper in a fairly glowing page-one story, in December 2006.
Related: Eberle's November News Watch article on how new technologies are shaping decisions by editors to publish once-verboten stories -- like news about bomb threats at public schools.
Your thoughts, in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, use this link from a non-work computer; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
[Image: this morning's Today, Newseum]
Not sure who will replace Eberle, but Fla. Today couldn't do any better than ME Bob Stover. A class act, who cares about his people. Worked there more than a decade ago, and I still miss Bob.
ReplyDeletesure, the answer can be found in the word 'class'
ReplyDeleteIf they pass over Bob Stover for the top job once again, it will be a shame. He's the one that keeps that place going year after year and he cares more about that newspaper than anyone.
ReplyDeleteReply to anon 12:19 PM:
ReplyDeleteI just sprayed coffee all over my computer.
Reply to anon 1:13 PM:
You made coffee spew out of my nostrils!
Reply to anon 5:16 PM:
I just barfed!
Gotta stay anonymous, still work for Gannett.
eberle was the most decent gannett manager we've had in indianapolis. of course, given that the others included rich luna, that may not be saying much.
ReplyDeleteTerry is one of the finest editors in the Gannett company. Any newspaper that he leads will be better because of it.
ReplyDelete