Melinda Henneberger is leaving her position as editor of Washington, D.C.-based congressional publication
Roll Call after refusing to make “deep cuts”
to staff.
David Ellis, chief content officer and SVP of CQ Roll Call, made the announcement to the newsroom on Tuesday afternoon, Politico reports.
Staffers were previously told Henneberger was on vacation this week, but according to the Daily Caller, many were suspicious of Henneberger’s absence.
In an
email to Politico, Henneberger explained the reasoning behind her decision: "I balked at a plan to make such deep cuts to staff that I feared the place wouldn't survive them, and further felt
that such cuts were unnecessary...”
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Henneberger added that she disapproved of Roll Call’s redesigned site, which has “serious” technical problems she
felt needed to be addressed and not “hidden from the Economist Group,” which owns the title.
Henneberger was named Roll Call’s editor-in-chief in October.
Since taking on the role, the newsroom has been fraught with unrest.
Nearly 10 reporters and editors left during Henneberger’s term; longtime political analyst and columnist
Stu Rothenberg left for The Washington Post in May after working at Roll Call for 24 years. According to Politico, the entire copy desk also resigned.
Many
journalists bristled at Roll Call’s change in coverage under Henneberger’s watch and her lack of vision for the publication.
“I have been increasingly
unhappy with Roll Call’s coverage, believing that they are chasing the story of the day, especially Trump,” Rothenberg told Politico. “That meant they were paying
less attention to Congress and congressional elections, which always was their bread-and-butter. I disagreed with management’s approach and style, so I ended the relationship.”
Roll Call's site fell 47% in January compared to the same period a year ago.
Henneberger was founder of AOL’s Politics Daily, and previously worked at Bloomberg
Politics, The Washington Post, The New York Times and New York Newsday.