Bill Schmidt

Bill Schmidt, an assistant managing editor and 27-year New York Times veteran, is moving to the International Herald Tribune to become the paper's "Editor, Global editions."

Mr. Schmidt is the administration-man of the Times newsroom—the one who sends out emails reminding reporters to file their expenses—and he'll have a similar, if expanded, role at The Times' sister publication. Bill Keller writes in a memo, "He will be, in effect, the chief operating officer of the Trib newsroom, the principle liaison with the publisher and with the Executive Editor of The Times."

Memo after the jump:  read more »

The New York Times announced that it's all but a done deal that the paper will have to layoff staffers in the newsroom.

The drop-dead deadline is fast approaching for the staffers in The New York Times newsroom to raise their hand and volunteer for a buyout. An internal memo from the paper's assistant managing editor, Bill Schmidt, just went out and said that "we expect" that the buyout numbers aren't looking good and that for the first time the paper will be forced to cut the newsroom through layoffs.

"While layoffs have become all too common across our industry, this is the first time the newsroom as a whole has confronted that blunt reality, and we approach it with a heavy heart," he said in the e-mail.

The entire memo is below:  read more »

To the Staff:

In the past few years we've had a tidal surge in the yearning of Times staffers to put their wisdom between hard covers. One result has been a lot of very good, even award-winning books that showcase the talents of the paper. Another has been a certain amount of stress on a hard-working staff, as important players disappear temporarily from the field. And a third has been a degree of confusion about what Times policies apply to book-writing. This is an attempt to set the record straight.

First, if you are contemplating a book, we need to know -- before you circulate a proposal or open negotiations with a publisher. Our current policy, spelled out in the ethical journalism handbook, says that anyone contemplating a book project that derives from his or her assignment or beat must notify the paper in advance. What I want to add is that whatever kind of book project you have in mind, you should contact me, Jill, John or Bill Schmidt (as well as your immediate superior) and arrange a meeting in which we can discuss whether your book-writing is compatible with your responsibilities to the paper. We should have this conversation even if you intend to write a book on your own time.

Second, there is no one-size-fits-all policy regarding book leaves. Often we ask staffers to take a pass on -- or postpone -- a book opportunity because we cannot afford to release them from the daily competition at that time. Sometimes we grant leaves, of various lengths and configurations. Sometimes we ask book-writers to temporarily leave the staff -- with written assurance they will be landed again when they finish their project -- because we cannot afford to freeze their slot. (Particularly, in the case of a long or indeterminate leave, having a book-writer go off staff gives us more flexibility to hire a replacement.) We do our best to balance the needs of the paper with the interests of staffers, but each case is unique.

Third, whether a Times staffer writes a book for our own publishing arm or for an outside publisher, he or she continues to be a representative of The New York Times. That imposes certain ethical requirements designed to protect the paper from questions about our impartiality and from perceived conflicts of interest. If reporters put material in books that calls into question their ability to be impartial journalists, they may limit their future options at the paper. This just underscores the importance of keeping us in the loop as you contemplate, plan, pitch and write a book. We can advise you on how to stay within the boundaries of our ethics policies.

None of this is new, but given the rising interest in book-writing, it probably bears repeating.

Bill