ABSENCE WITHOUT MALICE

MEDIA It appears that all those rumors about LEE CULLUM, the Dallas Timers Herald’s editorial page editor, being forced out are just that-rumors. Last fall, Cullum announced her intention to take a six-month leave of absence to write a book on “the future of Dallas and what it has to do to become a great 21st-century city.” She would still represent the Herald at functions and write an occasional column, but JEFF UNGER, deputy editor of the editorial page, would fill in on a day-to-day basis.

Word soon spread that an explosive exchange between Cullum and Herald Editor ROY BODE had ended with page proofs flung across the room and the gate for Cullum.

Not so, says Cullum, who has nothing but praise for Bode. “He’s very laid back. We’ve had an extremely smooth working relationship from the beginning.”

Bode also denies any bad blood between the two. “I would like to meet the person who generates such fanciful rumors. Lee has done an excellent job as editorial page editor and I look forward to having her back. I can’t imagine how people dream these things up, but in this town you can guess where the source might be. We have only one competitor in this town.”