Citizen Staff Writer
FROM OUR BLOGS
I haven’t written about our impending death because I haven’t quite known what to say. I still don’t. It’s been a little more than two weeks since the boom was lowered. The head of Gannett U.S. Community Publishing told the employees of the Citizen Jan. 16 that he was sorry to be delivering such difficult news, but the Citizen is losing money, is up for sale and will cease publication on March 21 if a buyer is not found.
There’s a lot more to this story than known to the public, despite the belief of some delusional commenters who insist that I, Mark Kimble and Billie Stanton killed the paper with our liberal commentary. I’ll tell it to anyone who wants to ply me with margaritas.
The mood in the newsroom, as you can imagine, is grim, with occasional moments of gallows humor.
Some of us, with more years under our belt, will leave here with decent severance packages, buying us a few months before desperation sets in. Others need to find jobs right away. Some here have families to support. Others of us have only ourselves (and perhaps our pets) to worry about.
It’s rough. But I won’t leave here bitter. This field has given me 20 great years. During the 15 years I’ve spent with Gannett, I’ve been been treated well by supervisors, received regular raises and been given wonderful opportunities.
When I was a medical reporter, I thought I had the best job at the Citizen. Then I was promoted to metro columnist three years ago and I loved my new job even more. I have appreciated all my regular readers, even the ones who just loved to hate me.
As a city, Tucson is losing another piece of its history. The Citizen was established in 1870.
On a personal level, I feel like I’m losing my family.
ANNE T. DENOGEAN