LAT's O'Shea is out *

Jim O'Shea is the third successsive editor to leave The Times over budgetary issues. Publisher David Hiller claims O'Shea wasn't exactly fired — his departure is part of a reorganization under the New Tribune. Right.

LADN reporter and union leader Brent Hopkins comments on his blog:

As much as I enjoy when we beat the Times on a story, I take no pleasure when I see things like this. As Marty Kaplan says at the end, it seems like this is a story we hear every few months, with an editor or publisher getting the axe for refusing to take it to the necks of their staff. And whether it's in our company or our competitor, it's always a shame.

Lots of coverage at LAObserved, NYT and LAT. Former LAT editor John Carroll tells E&P that OShea's dismissal is part of "an ongoing instability" in that newsroom.

* In his own words: O'Shea's memo to staff. We took note of this:

We journalists have our faults, but we also have a lot to offer. Too often we’ve been dismissed as budgetary adolescents who can’t be trusted to conserve our resources. That is wrong. Journalists and not accountants should seize responsibility for the financial health of our newspapers so journalists can make decisions about the size of our staffs and how much news remains in our papers and web sites.

We wish you well, Mr. O'Shea.