Memo from Joe Sexton

Metro Editor

New York Times

December 9, 2009

The Last Metro

More than 80 years of experience is leaving when we say goodbye to Ralph Blumenthal, Nicole Collins, Paul Nielsen, Tina Kelley and Jenny 8. Lee. Join us in a toast at 6 p.m. in the Page One conference room.

Ralph Blumenthal, who had not come close to exhausting his appetite for reporting in all corners of this city, and Nicole Collins, who had barely begun to taste the huge success she was so clearly destined for, have opted to take the buyout.

So, too, has Paul Nielsen, the tough minded and deeply smart stalwart of Metro’s copy desk. Tina Kelley, Metro’s poet laureate and one of The Local’s brave pioneers, will also be leaving us. She has a great next gig in hand, and so while her decision filled me with a mix of respect and regret, that bit of news allows me to be thrilled for her, too. Then there’s Jenny8. Lee, who has spent the last two years as one of the creative and daring and agile brains behind City Room, and her instincts and inventiveness have helped make it the second most popular blog in our empire.

In some ways, of course, it breaks your heart. But I also believe, for all of them, the decision in many ways must make real sense.

Anyway, amid all the ambivalence – in their souls, in our hearts – there is certainty: all of them are treasures, and they deserve a real tribute. Please, then, join us at 6 p.m. Wednesday to give praise, have a pop, and hear a tale or two – about their time here, or their adventures ahead.

It’ll be in the Page One conference room.

Joe [Sexton, Metro Editor]

Filed under: Guild News