Sandy calls it quits

The transformation at The Oregonian continues.

In September, Publisher Fred Stickel retired from the newspaper that's been synonymous with his name for 41 years.

Today, Editor Sandy Rowe stunned the newsroom staff with an emotional announcement that she would retire at the end of the year. This is the woman whose leadership, vision and uncompromising high standards remade The Oregonian into the best newspaper of its size in the country, with five Pulitzer Prizes in five different categories, during her 16-year run.

A native Virginian who followed her father into the business, she established herself as one of the country's finest and most respected editors, with a great eye for talent and the ability to nurture it in both young and veteran journalists.

With her voice cracking and struggling to avoid breaking into tears, Sandy told us she'd decided over the Thanksgiving weekend that the timing was right for her to leave, despite assurances during the past couple years that she'd be with us to see things through as we transition from a print-only product to a multimedia news organization.

Looking at next year's budget and trying to figure how many more positions might have to be cut, she decided she could help preserve some jobs by removing her salary from the equation. I don't think anybody in the room begrudges her for the decision. At 61, she can retire comfortably in Portland and devote more time to her husband, her two daughters and their husbands and her two grandchildren. And she certainly left The Oregonian with a framework for continued success in the newsroom.

Peter Bhatia, the No. 2 guy at The Oregonian since his hiring in 1993, got it right when he told us that Sandy's legacy would go beyond journalism prizes and prestigous boards she's led (including the Pulitzer Prizes Board and the American Society of Newspaper Editors).

"Sandy created an environment here for all of us to do our best work," Bhatia said. "Her legacy here is about journalistic excellence, about telling stories in the best way possible, about getting to the bottom of wrongdoing and malfeasance by public officials and others, and of being the eyes and ears of the public, and caring first about that public."

During the 16 years Sandy and Peter have been at The Oregonian, I had the privilege of working closely with both of them for 11 of those years on newsroom recruiting. Together we literally changed the face of the newsroom, making it far more diverse and more talented than it had ever been. There were many, many occasions when I had the opportunity for deep one-on-ones with them, and I know they valued my advice, national contacts and expertise as we developed an internship program recognized as one of the country's best and collaborated on hiring decisions that brought us established stars along with bright, tech-savvy young people who are the paper's future.

But this isn't about me. It's about Sandy. Here's a link to the news story we posted online.

And it's about Peter. Our new publisher, Chris Anderson, on the job himself only since late October, announced -- to our great relief -- that Peter would become the new editor. A worst-case scenario would have involved Anderson bringing in an outsider with a reputation for slashing budgets and newsroom staffs, with little regard for local history and traditions. But in promoting Peter, he said, we would get "continuity in the newsroom while bringing the inevitable different perspective that comes with a change in leadership."

All of this drama played out in the room we call "The Well" -- a conference room with collapsible walls -- where we've experienced the highest highs (five Pulitzer celebrations) and the lowest lows (buyout announcements, discouraging financial news, cuts in pay and benefits). All of us want to believe Chris and Sandy when they say this latest round of buyouts -- our third in two years -- and the improving economy have put us on the verge of breaking through to profitability once again. Now that would be a turnaround to look forward to in 2010.

Photo: Michael Lloyd, The Oregonian