Several Departures at the Middletown Press

In the past few weeks, the Middletown Press has seen the departure of two editors, two reporters, and a photographer. That leaves the Press currently operating with a diminished staff.

Middletown Press publisher Dan Moriarty characterized all the departures as resignations, and when asked if such a substantial change in news personnel was normal, he said, "At a paper this size, this kind of turnover is not unusual."

One long-time editor who left said that her departure was not voluntary but that she was "let go" on unsubstantiated charges of wrongdoing a day after she filed a harassment claim.

In the past several months, more than one employee has been absent from the newspaper for extended periods with stress-related illness.

Among those who have left for good, recently, are editors Alice Clayton and Cassandra Day, reporter Sloan Brewster (who has just accepted a job at as Farmington weekly newspaper), and news photographer Brenda De Los Santos.

"Every position that has come open," Moriarity said. "We're searching, recruiting and replacing the positions."

Moriarity declined to say how many people are currently on the news staff.

"I'd have to look at my payroll sheets," he said.

An anonymous source informed the Eye that news, editorial and sales staff has declined from 11 to 5 in recent days. Moriarity said that those numbers are not accurate, and that the paper would soon be up to full staffing. He said that the newspaper is currently operating with local news staff and assistance from the New Haven office.

The Middletown Press is a Journal Register Company paper. The Journal Register Company emerged from Chapter 11 protection at the beginning of August with new financing. The refinancing plan wiped out former stockholders and transferred ownership to secured lenders.

According to the AP, the restructuring plan was not without controversy:

Judge Allan Gropper approved the plan over several objections.

The company's largest union, the Newspaper Guild, as well as Connecticut and Pennsylvania state officials, objected to plans for paying up to $1.7 million in bonuses to top executives.

A $6.6 million payment from secured to unsecured debt holders also drew criticism. That money went to pay in full those deemed critical suppliers — ink and newsprint providers, for instance. Although some other unsecured debt holders, who received only 9 cents on the dollar, criticized the payment, the company argued that its newspapers would have been crippled if it couldn't pay its suppliers.

Moriarity, a former general manager with the Middletown Press, returned in February of this year as publisher.