Decision Time
The chatter is that Giallombardo is close to hiring a new Tennessean editor
by Matt Pulle
Will she just pick someone already? Three months after Frank Sutherland stepped down as Tennessean editor, publisher Leslie Giallombardo may be on the verge of naming his replacement within 10 days, maybe sooner. (Which will mean the end of this almost-weekly commentary on the subject.)
At least that's what sources tell us, although, to be honest, no one seems to know what Giallombardo's thinking. Many of her own reporters and editors are in the dark about her plans—alas, some of them turn to the Scene for our obsessive updates—but here's what some knowledgeable chatterers both inside and outside of the newsroom are saying:
E.J. Mitchell, managing editor of the Detroit News, seems to be the frontrunner for the job. He's young, enthusiastic, refreshingly intrigued about Nashville and, unfortunately, prone to use lame journalism buzzwords like "sophisticated layering." He visited the Tennessean newsroom in October and seemed to garner decent reviews. Two other serious candidates for the job, Henry Freeman, editor of the Journal News in Westchester County, N.Y., and Carolyn Washburn, editor of The Idaho Statesman in Boise, seemed to have fallen a length or two back in the editor derby. But the two entrenched Gannett hands, both of whom also visited Nashville, are respected within the company, so don't be surprised if one of them ends up on The Tennessean masthead.
Washburn in particular might make business reporters nervous, as she has shown favoritism toward Boise's top employer, Micron Technologies, during her stint as editor there.
Tennessean managing editor Dave Green, who has kept the paper reasonably afloat since Sutherland's retirement, is still thought to be a candidate, if an unpopular one. His reporters tolerate him, but none seems to think he can energize a newsroom. It's possible that Green could become Giallombardo's default choice if she can't settle on any of the other candidates. But if she wants to remake the paper and stem its persistent circulation declines, she should give Green a cushy weekly column, a consulting gig and a gold watch—and move him away from the controls.
Which brings us to our dark horse candidate, none other than former Scene editor Bruce Dobie. While Desperately's former boss has been utterly evasive with his former staff about his future plans, numerous sources have confirmed that Dobie and Giallombardo have seriously discussed The Tennessean's editor position. In fact, one source says that, in a why-hasn't-she-called-me-back moment, Dobie contacted her to ask what was going on (the job angling version of "I thought we had a good time?"). She told him something along the lines of, "hang in there" ("I still want to see other people").
Dobie, who once laughed off the possibility of being Tennessean editor, now offers only statesmanlike "no comment" replies when we ask him about the job. Giallombardo, meanwhile, has been willing to answer Desperately's questions about other candidates but remains oddly cautious on the subject of Dobie. She gives us the same "no comment."
Dobie did, however, talk today with NashvillePost.com, although he didn't say anything particularly helpful. NashvillePost.com reported that Dobie was a confirmed candidate for the editor job. "When I have something to say about my future, I will," Dobie told editor David Fox. "But that is not now."
We think our sources might be on to something when they tell us not to rule out the unlikely marriage of a big, corporate daily and the former editor of a formerly independent alt-weekly. Former Scene investigative reporter Willy Stern started an underground campaign to push a possible Dobie hire. Once every bizpig's worst nightmare, Stern now spends his time enlisting the former subjects of his beat to support a Dobie editorship. And he says our former boss has a base.
"Thinking of the good of Nashville and without Dobie's knowledge or consent, I called 30 to 40 movers and shakers in Nashville to try to get Dobie on Giallombardo's radar screen," Stern says. "The individual conversations were privileged, but the overwhelming response was that influential Nashvillians would sincerely prefer a local candidate to another Gannett person."
In fact, among those Stern called was Keel Hunt, founder of The Strategy Group, former apparatchik to Gov. Lamar Alexander and now flack to Martha Ingram. Hunt says that he talked to Ingram about Dobie, though he wouldn't divulge the details of their conversation. As Martha Ingram goes, so goes the city.
As an odd side note, Hunt, who was a Tennessean city editor many moons ago—he left in 1977—expressed interest in the job but is not a candidate. "I told her, having grown up in The Tennessean and having been raised by John Seigenthaler, I had some interest in it," Hunt says. (And Desperately has an interest in hooking up with Teri Hatcher.)
It's still a safe bet that Giallombardo will go with one of the three outside Gannett hands she's already interviewed. People who know the affable Tennessean publisher say that she's very deliberate and even more careful. They also say that Gannett has told her that this decision is hers and hers alone. So if she blows it, it's her burden alone. But if she gets it right and finds an editor who can make daily journalism work in an age of instant news and media cynicism, she'll be viewed as a visionary who understood that a newspaper like The Tennessean can still be the driving force of a city. We should get a taste of what she wants sooner rather than later.
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