Cleveland/Cuyahoga's incredibly shrinking daily newspaper is community loss

This is a sad day for Cuyahoga County residents and most of them don’t even know it. The area’s principal daily newspaper, in the callous emotionally unintelligent manner for which its ownership/management is becoming known, delivered pink slips in the form of phone calls to fifty or so of its editorial personnel. Those laid off — a euphemism, given the likelihood of their recall is de minimis — include reporters and others who carry much of the paper’s institutional memory.

Among the departed are reporters Margaret Bernstein and Stan Donaldson. I can say without fear of contradiction that no Plain Dealer writer has ever covered Cleveland’s black community with more insight, sensitivity and affirmation than Margaret. Her eyes and voice will be sorely missed.

Stan Donaldson brought a professional approach to his reporting that will likewise be missed. He worked with unflinching focus on uncovering real community stories.

While I have never been a PD fan, I have always been a regular reader. The fact that they left so many stories untold or and skewed others with serious myopia or prejudice does not obscure the positive values of having a community wide source of information. Staying informed about our community has just gotten harder.