In a victory for bow tie-buffs and good-grammar-lovers everywhere, former Baltimore Sun copy desk chief John McIntyre has been hired back by the news organization that laid him off a year ago, along with a third of the newsroom.

McIntyre, who continued his Sun blog — “You Don’t Say!” — during his one-year “sabbatical” from the newspaper, will serve as “night content and production manager” when he returns on May 4, according to an email sent to the staff today by newsroom administrator Rosanna Uranachek.

It’s a strange business model they’ve got over there — reward a highly-paid editor to go away (presumably, he got a decent severance package) and then hire him back a little while later.

But, then again, who’s to say they’re not doing something right over there these days.

The latest circulation numbers are out and they show that The Sun is doing better than most of America’s daily newspapers, which on average saw an 8 percent circulation loss this year over last year. The Sun’s circulation, during that period, only fell by 3.9 percent!

Here’s a Q & A McIntyre did for Syracuse.com in March on “the future of copy editing.” And

And here’s the text of the email about McIntyre coming back.

We’re delighted to announce that a familiar face and veteran journalist, John McIntyre, will be returning to The Baltimore Sun on May 4. He’ll be working as the night content and production manager, overseeing newsroom operations in the evening for print and online. John brings with him a wealth of knowledge about the Baltimore area, a strong command of language and a sharp eye for detail. Many of you have been keeping up with John on his blog, “You Don’t Say,” and that will be returning as well. Please join us in welcoming him back.

John will work closely with Chris Rickett for the first two weeks. After that, Chris will be taking on a new challenge: He’ll join metro as a content editor.

Mary and Trif

Rosanna Uranachek
Newsroom Administrator

http://johnemcintyre.blogspot.com/2010/04/happy-days-are-here-again.html#comments