There are more rumors floating around about The Morning Call. Apparently, the paper is doing so badly they are planning to rent out the first floor of the Allentown building. That means Publisher Tim Kennedy will be moving into former editorial VP Ardith Hilliard's office in the newsroom. Guess Dave Erdman's promotion means he will have to stay in his old office.

And of course, there are the ongoing rumors of more layoffs in the next few weeks. Nearly 30 percent of the company's 948 employees have been laid off or have taken buyouts in the last couple of years. Sources say they are looking to cut the staff in half. 

Newsroom workers have been told to put all their efforts into the Web site, basically ignoring 100,000 loyal readers of the print product. The nosediving newspaper business leaves me wondering if there will be a physical paper left in any city after the smoke clears. . .

I guess I've hit a nerve with the posting of Ardie's Party. Not everyone is ecstatic with being included, so here is a censored version of the photo collage. Seems like former Morning Call editors are trying to edit my blog also. Well, pooh pooh on you. Unfortunately, I no longer take orders from anyone.

Unless I'm badly mistaken, I remember the Call running photos of mourners at funerals against their wishes and without their permission. That didn't stop editors from sending us out to shoot them (against our better judgment), and it certainly didn't stop them from running the pictures on the front page for all in the Valley to see. What is the difference between that and running a photo of The Morning Call's funeral?

Readers are more than welcome to comment publicly on anything they read here and open up a dialogue about what's fair and what's not. That works much better than sending negative e-mails. Let everyone have a voice, as it were. Try it; you might just like it.

  The first signs of spring are beginning to unfold in my otherwise drab, late-winter garden. This breathtaking crocus was just a bud pushing through fallen leaves two days ago; now the delicate petals unfold to reveal the inner beauty that signals the awakening of nature in all of its awe and glory.

Take time to look around you as you walk outside today—no doubt Mother Nature will surprise you with bits of color like these as she prepares her palette for the warmer days of April.

I just received an update to Ardie's farewell party at TMC from a former (much happier) employee. I'll let him tell it in his own words:

"On top of whatever they did in the newsroom, Kennedy also hosted a small party for her at the Allentown Brew Works on Thursday evening. It was him, Hirsch, Rang, Carpenter, White, Stumpf, maybe one other copy ed, Liz Bartolai and Erdman. Not a very big group for a woman who made such contributions to a 'thriving' Morning Call, huh? 

"Remember [Roy Heffelfinger] Heff’s going away party? I think half of Allentown showed up for it and the other half wished it could have been there. God, how far that paper has slid…"

Hey there, all you former Morning Call employees both far and wide! Be sure to set your clocks to be at the farewell party for editorial VP Ardith Hilliard today at 3:30 p.m. Come one, come all and bring your money to contribute to a gift and don't forget your stories and memories to write in Ardie's farewell journal! Are you listening out there Mary Youtz? Frank Whelan? Mary Ellen Alu? Daryl Nerl? Get your party hats on, dudes and dudettes, and be there or be square!

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? A downsized veep gets a going away party AND a gift AND a memory journal AND a hefty settlement while many of the employees she axed were met at the door by a security guard or beaten down in long, ugly court cases. Nevertheless, Publisher Tim Kennedy waxed gushingly over Hilliard's accomplishments in a memo to employees: "As Ardie departs, the combined print and online reach of The Morning Call has never been higher . . . Please join me in . . . thanking Ardie for her contributions to a thriving Morning Call."

Gee, is The Morning Call thriving? If so, then why did they lay off nearly half the staff during her tenure?

And also according to Kennedy, Ardie's successor Dave Erdman is a "driving force" who "possesses the knowledge, instinct to innovate and leadership qualities we need in these challenging times."  Hmmmm....are we talking about the same person here? And just think—if Miorelli gets Erdman's job does that mean that his successor will be (get ready for this) Kathy Reinhard? Whoohoo!!

Thank God I was downsized rather than continue to bow at the feet of fools. 

It's official—Morning Call editorial VP Ardith Hilliard is stepping down, according to today's TMC. She will be replaced by Managing Editor Dave Erdman. The story indicates that the decision was voluntary on Hilliard's part, but insiders know she was given a year to decide to take a buyout after a visit from Tribune CIO Lee Abrams.

Bypassing the chance to eliminate a six-figure unnecessary position (the Call has seven vice presidents), CEO Tim Kennedy promoted Erdman. Now we wait to see if he does the next stupidest thing by promoting Metro Editor Mike Miorelli into Erdman's position. The triumvirat of Hilliard/Erdman/Miorelli, say employees, has put the Call into it's present downward spiral. Getting rid of one bad apple while promoting the other two makes little sense. It should be interesting to watch the ongoing circus evolve.