Culture Map has a list of some of the Dallas Morning News reporters who have taken the most recent round of buyouts at the paper. And, boy, there are some big names on there. Frequent Frontburner sparring partners Steve Blow and Rodger Jones will leave the paper. Also taking buyouts: writer Brooks Egerton, Oak Cliff reporter Roy Appleton, Washington bureau chief Todd Gillman, airlines reporter Terry Maxon, and legendary business columnist Bob Miller (who was already retiring and has been “grandfathered” into the buyouts), among others.
Those are some pretty important beats. What I’ll be interested in seeing is how new DMN editor Mike Wilson goes about back-filling some of these positions — and which he leaves vacant. One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the loss of classical music critic Scott Cantrell, who is also taking a buyout. With Cantrell out as the DMN’s classical music critic, the state of Texas now has, from my count, no full-time classical critics just one full-time classical critic (the Chronicle’s Joshua Kosman). (UPDATE: The Chronicle works with a number of writers who cover classical, but there are no full-time classical critics with the paper, the paper’s features desk confirmed.)
It’s a tough day for the media industry, but a particularly sad one for arts criticism in Dallas.
UPDATE 2: Some more clarifying via Scott Cantrell:
Although I am indeed taking the buyout, it looks as though I’ll continue covering the classical beat through next season on a reduced freelance schedule. That will give me the transition period I’d hoped for, and give editors time to figure out how they want to go forward with classical-music coverage.
