BY DAN
KENNEDY
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Shake-up at the
Herald. Ken Chandler is up and Andy Costello is down. But
apparently no one is leaving. The Boston Herald just sent out
an announcement that former editor Chandler, who returned last spring
after several years as publisher of the New York Post, has
been named editorial director of the Herald and its Community
Newspaper chain of papers in Greater Boston and on Cape Cod. Costello
is out as editor after nearly 10 years at the top of the masthead,
but he's staying with the company.
Here's the full
announcement:
Patrick J. Purcell,
president of Herald Media, Inc. announced today the appointment of
Kenneth A. Chandler as Editorial Director of all Herald Media
publications. Chandler will be responsible for the overall
editorial operations of the Boston Herald and the Community
Newspaper Company's five daily, 89 weekly and 21 specialty
publications.
Andrew F. Costello announced his
resignation as Editor-in-Chief, effective today. Costello has been
with the newspaper in various editorial capacities since 1983, and
was named Editor in April of 1994. He is exploring other
opportunities within the company.
"Andy has been a tremendous
asset to the newspaper, and we were fortunate to have him at the
helm for the last ten years. His competitiveness, dedication and
work ethic are unparalleled. Andy is the consummate news
professional," said Purcell.
Costello said, "It has been an
honor to serve as editor for the past ten years. My heartfelt
thanks to a very dedicated and talented staff. I know they will
continue to produce one of the finest newspapers in the
country."
Chandler was editor of the
Boston Herald from 1986 to 1992. After that, he became
Editor-in-Chief and later Publisher of the New York Post. He has
since served as a consultant to Patrick Purcell.
Chandler is married to Erika
Schwartz, M.D., a nationally-known women's health expert and
author. They have five children.
Costello's possible departure has
been a matter of internal and external gossip since last spring, when
Purcell brought Chandler back to the paper and went with a tarted-up
product featuring more gossip and lots of cleavage. Costello - a
hard-news guy who used to work for the New Bedford
Standard-Times - couldn't have liked the changes. It's to
Purcell's credit that he is apparently going to take care of
Costello, who is a good guy.
It's been a rough year for the
Herald, which has been beset by declining circulation and
sliding ad revenues. The move toward flash and trash was not well
received in the newsroom, yet staff members have said that they
recognize the survival of the paper is at stake (see "Tabzilla
Returns," June 20,
2003).
In November, the paper eliminated
19 positions. Well-known columnists such as Wayne Woodlief and Monica
Collins were cut from the payroll, although they continue to write on
a freelance basis (see "Media,"
This Just In, November 21, 2003).
The next big question: who will
replace Costello as editor? Presumably Chandler doesn't want the job
himself, yet it's equally safe to assume that Purcell doesn't want to
pay the money that would be necessary to bring in a heavy hitter.
Which leaves the folks at One
Herald Square pretty much where they've been for the past year:
waiting for another shoe to drop.
posted at 6:52 PM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
