2 Legendary Media Writers Depart

The end of an era? Poynter’s Jim Romenesko, the go-to source for all journalism insider news, announced Wednesday he would be retiring his blog—the same day that Slate laid off four, including longtime critic Jack Shafer. Romenesko, 57, considered one of the first real bloggers, said he would be doing original reporting on his own website, JimRomenesko.com, and would still contribute casually to Poynter. Shafer, called a “fearless media critic” by the American Journalism Review, said he would still contribute to Slate occasionally. Slate “Chatterbox” columnist Timothy Noah, foreign editor June Thomas, and Juliet Lapidos were the other staffers laid off. The layoffs were reportedly because of the tough economic times.