Why Gannett gave Tucson only until March 21

A week ago today, newspaper division chief Bob Dickey told nearly 70 Tucson Citizen employees they'd be out of work unless a buyer stepped forward for the 138-year-old afternoon paper by March 21. That seemed like a suspiciously short time to scare up a new owner especially with a recession in full force.

But then I recalled the federal WARN law. In effect since 1989, the law requires Gannett and other employers to give 60 days' advance notice of a plant closing involving 50 or more employees.

Number of days between last Friday and March 21: exactly 64.

As we now know, Dickey took off for a pricey golf tournament, right after Gannett coldcocked Tucson. "We've been through two layoffs, and now this,'' senior editor Jennifer Boice told Tucson Weekly, for a story yesterday. "I don't think it gets much worse than that in any working environment."

In July, Boice replaced editor-publisher Michael Chihak after he quit to become executive director of the Communications Leadership Institute in San Francisco.

Boice has been with the Citizen for 25 years; her husband, associate editor and editorial page editor Mark Kimble, is in his 34th year, Tucson Weekly says: "They've seen the good times, but now, Boice and Kimble are being forced to endure the impact of a business facing major uncertainties."

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