Terrance Egger’s departure comes after almost seven years as The Plain Dealer’s publisher and in the midst of re-organizations by many newspapers as they shift emphasis and resources from print to online.  Out in front of that trend is The Plain Dealer’s owner, Advance Publications, a media conglomerate owned by the Newhouse family and based in New York. 

The company ceased seven-day-a-week publication of papers it owns in Michigan, Alabama and elsewhere.  The highly revered New Orleans Times-Picayune, for example, prints only three days a week now and is laying off about a third of its staff.  Plain Dealer staff are worried the same fate awaits them.

Carrie Buchanan, a journalism professor at John Carroll University, says they are right to worry and so should the community.

“Then we get that whole tumble-down effect of the staff cuts leading to more stories for each individual reporter to do in a day,” Buchanan says. “The lack of research time, the lack of getting out of the newsroom. The whole problem turns into a tumbleweed that grows and grows and creates a bigger problem.”

Advance Publications did not respond to interview requests but previously has defended its new model as necessary to strengthen its digital presence and keep in line with business trends affecting the newspaper industry. 

Terry Egger also was not available.  In a note sent to PD staffers, Egger said “I will be 55 this week, and while it has not been an easy decision to leave a career and industry that I love, I am excited about starting a productive next phase in my life.”

There’s no word from Plain Dealer management about any changes in publication or staffing at this time.

Meanwhile, another Northeast Ohio publishing company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy today. It is the second time the Journal Register Co., which owns the Willoughby News Herald and Lorain’s Morning Journal, filed for bankruptcy in the last three years.