It’s now been three-and-one-half weeks since I left The Californian via buyout and three weeks since Black Tuesday, when 14 of my coworkers in the newsroom and 20 overall in the company were laid off. The touching title of this post, “Then we came to the end” was coined by my friend and assistant Eye Street editor Stefani Dias to illustrate her Facebook gallery of photos taken in the days before and when the staff gathered for the last time, the night of the layoffs. What I will never forget was the palpable sense of foreboding and dread that engulfed the newsroom in the weeks leading up to Black Tuesday, yet how everyone did their jobs with diligence and professionalism. Everybody knew it was coming; the only question was who and how many. Staffers openly packed up their belongings, filling up boxes in plain view, wanting to make sure they had their personal belongings out of the building long before that day. Our great columnist and editor Lois Henry assembled the staff for a picnic the Friday before; an unusual gesture but one that was perfectly clear: Lois was gathering the staff for one last lunch. She couldn’t say it, but she didn’t have to. Everybody knew.
On my last day, our sweet support services crew, Nicole and Estella, sensing that the end was near, hastily arranged for a staff picture on the front steps of the building. I was out shooting my final assignment, and though my boss tried to get me there in time, I was too far out and couldn’t make it. But the picture was made. and it is one I will always treasure. Eleven of the 14 who would be laid off in a couple of days are in this picture, smiling through the uncertainty. This was a good staff; great reporters, photographers and editors. I can’t help but wonder, will The Californian ever again have this many staffers to stand on those historic steps and pose for a picture? Stefani states “we” came to and end. The other question is has “it” come to an end?
