I was so shocked by the whole thing, I didn't think of anything clever to say until the next day, and then it was too late. He purged about five people altogether, all ones that had been supported by the former managing editor or had crossed him in some way. Some friends of mine said I should file a grievance, but after that experience I didn't really want to go back.
There had been rumors going around the newsroom that something was going to happen, and I knew I was not one of his favorites, so the day before it happened, I asked my boss, the business editor, if I was doing OK. He said I was doing fine. "I especially like the way you've taken over supervising the layout," he said. He was really embarrassed when he called me in the next day, and I think that's why he came up the the story that I was being transferred. I think it was wishful thinking on his part, or he had pushed for a transfer when they told him, and they said "maybe."
There had been rumors going around the newsroom that something was going to happen, and I knew I was not one of his favorites, so the day before it happened, I asked my boss, the business editor, if I was doing OK. He said I was doing fine. "I especially like the way you've taken over supervising the layout," he said. He was really embarrassed when he called me in the next day, and I think that's why he came up the the story that I was being transferred. I think it was wishful thinking on his part, or he had pushed for a transfer when they told him, and they said "maybe."