By Foster Kamer 12/19/11 5:04pm

TIMES OF THE TIMES

Diana Henriques

More NYT Buyouts: Diana B. Henriques, Eric Dash, Bob Harris, and The Reporter Who Didn’t Get One

IN MID-OCTOBER, a memo was sent out to all New York Times editorial staffers, from recently-installed Times executive editor Jill Abramson, managing editor Dean Baquet, and managing editor for news operations John M. Geddes: plans to reducing the newsroom with a series of voluntary buyout packages were underway, with Ms. Abramson’s projected count at “fewer than 20.”

Over the last week, news of eight buyouts—including veteran columnists Clyde Haberman and George Vecsey, as well as T Magazine‘s executive editor Andy Port—and tributes to the respectively retired Timespeople were circulated internally, a cache of which we posted earlier. There are two three that we missed, and one that we didn’t (but could’ve). UPDATED. Read More

By Foster Kamer 12/19/11 1:27pm

LEAKED MEMOS

New NYT retiree Clyde Haberman.

Goodbye, Gray Lady: New York Times Legends Take Buyouts, Internal Tributes Follow in Suit

OVER THE WEEKEND, the New York Times‘ ‘Sports of the Times’ columnist George Vecsey surprised regular readers with his Saturday column this week, which he used to announce a change in his schedule: “it is time to step back (not using the R-word) and write for the paper occasionally.”

Mr. Vecsey was one of several Times veterans who signed off on the latest round of buyout packages recently offered to the paper’s staffers, many of whom were publicly mourned on Twitter by Times staffers (“Some really good people leaving @nytimes with the latest round of voluntary buyouts. Paper will be less w/o them,” one wrote).

The Observer was recently passed on a series of communiques from the Times in-house blog detailing who took the buyouts. In addition to Mr. Vecsey, a 30-year veteran of the paper, they are: Read More

By Foster Kamer 5/18/11 12:54am

Endings

The End of an Era: Elaine’s Closing After 48 Years

Transom was saddened to receive the news that the Upper East Side institution Elaine’s-the restaurant named for its legendary owner, Elaine Kaufman, who passed away in December at 81-will be closing after 48 years of business after last call on May 26, 2011. Diane Becker, the longtime manager who inherited the restaurant from Kaufman, explained Read More