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Don Terry, a Tribune Magazine writer with a Pulitzer in his background from his years at the New York Times, got a call in the morning from Geoff Brown, associate managing editor for features. Terry: “He said, ‘Are you coming in?’ I said, ‘Yeah, in half an hour.’ He said, ‘Please stop in my office.’ You know what that means. That’s like the coach saying, ‘Please come in and bring your playbook.’ I said, ‘Geoff, cut to the chase. Have I been laid off’ He said yes.’”
Jeff Lyon, also a magazine writer, and senior writer Charles Leroux both thought they’d be gone by now. They’d accepted buyout packages in December, but — a few hours before the Tribune filed for bankruptcy — the offers were taken off the table. “So Jeff and I had already gotten ourselves psychologically ready not to be doing this any more,” Leroux told me. Lyon said, “I was mentally out the door two months ago.”
