The Washington Times newsroom was rattled Monday by word that three top executives had been ousted and that Executive Editor John Solomon was AWOL — “considering his options” in the words of a top editor.
The Times announced that Publisher Tom McDevitt, Chief Finance Officer Keith Cooperrider and Chairman Doug Joo had been fired. Jonathan Slevin, a vice president at the paper, is now acting president and publisher.
The biggest question is whether Solomon will remain on staff. He had changed the direction of the paper significantly — making a number of enemies in the process, according to Times staffers — after being brought aboard from The Washington Post in January 2008. Solomon did not return a call from Yeas & Nays.
Solomon’s failure to show in the newsroom on a day when rumors swirled about the paper’s future was widely interpreted as a sign he was likely to not return.
