Copyright © 1997 by the Boston Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved.

This Just In: Media Notes

Musical chairs

By Dan Kennedy

With Boston Herald columnist Leonard Greene departing for Long Island's Newsday this week, the tabloid's lineup of pundits is, for the moment, as white as a 1950s city room. That's a serious problem for any paper, but especially for an urban daily with a large black readership.

Managing editor for news Andrew Gully says the Herald plans to conduct a thorough search for a suitable replacement. "We're open to suggestions, and we're waiting to see who comes through the door," he says.

But perhaps the most intriguing candidate is already ensconced at One Herald Square: Robin Washington, whose current job, as a copy editor for the sports section, belies his wide-ranging background. An award-winning documentary filmmaker and a former managing editor of the Bay State Banner, Washington is an eclectic, original thinker who'd be a welcome addition to the city's opinion pages. Washington says he wants the job, and Gully confirms that Washington is a candidate.

A Chicago native with an African-American father and a Jewish mother, Washington produced the Emmy Award-winning Vermont: The Whitest State in the Union and, later, You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow, about a little-known "freedom ride" that took place in the South in 1947, just before the dawn of the civil rights era.

Two years ago, when many commentators were denouncing the Million Man March as anti-Semitic because of the involvement of Louis Farrakhan, Washington wrote a moving op-ed for the Banner comparing the March to Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. The piece was later reprinted by the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. An executive board member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Washington is hoping to persuade more black reporters to come to the Herald. "I'm serious about desegregating this place," he says.

It's widely known in the Herald newsroom that editor Andy Costello considers Washington underemployed in his present role and has cast about for projects worthy of his talents, such as last spring's series on the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's rookie year.

Here's a chance to rectify that permanently.

With Globe political editor Mark Morrow moving up to national editor, there's a serious game of musical chairs under way at 135 Morrissey Boulevard.

It's expected to be announced this week that Doug Bailey, the paper's assistant senior business editor, will fill Morrow's slot, creating, in turn, a vacancy in the Business section.

Morrow's predecessor as national editor, Jim Concannon, is doing a stint as editor of the Sunday Focus section. But his predecessor, Chris Chinlund, may return to that job when she finishes her year as a Nieman Fellow next spring.

So where will Morrow ultimately land? One strong possibility is that he'll succeed Teresa Hanafin as Metro/Region editor once she's ready to move on from that high-burnout slot.