NEW YORK (AP) — The editor of USA Today, the nation’s largest-selling newspaper, retired suddenly yesterday amid a scandal over fabrications and deceptions by Jack Kelley, one of the paper’s star reporters.
Karen Jurgensen, 55, had been the paper’s editor since 1999. Her departure comes on the heels of a comprehensive report on the Kelley fiasco compiled by three veteran newspaper editors.
Craig Moon, USA Today’s publisher, has released no details about the report’s contents or its recommendations. He has said he plans to do so sometime this week.
Mr. Kelley resigned under pressure in January after admitting to trying to deceive editors checking into the veracity of some of his reporting. A subsequent inquiry found that he made up major parts of at least eight stories and committed several acts of plagiarism.
Steven Anderson, a spokesman for the newspaper, said USA Today executives would not be making any comments on the departure beyond a brief statement that Mr. Moon sent to USA Today staffers yesterday afternoon.
In the statement, Mr. Moon said Miss Jurgensen’s departure “opens the door to move the USA Today brand forward under new leadership.” He said a search for a new editor was under way.
The scandal deeply embarrassed USA Today, which fought for years to overcome perceptions that it gave serious news topics short shrift with brief articles and catchy headlines. The newspaper is the largest-circulation daily in the United States and also the flagship publication of Gannett Co., the nation’s biggest newspaper publisher.
“Like all of us who worked with Jack Kelley, I wish we had caught him far sooner than we did,” Miss Jurgensen said in the announcement to the paper’s staff. “The sad lessons learned by all in this dreadful situation will make USA Today a stronger, better newspaper.”
Mr. Kelley spent 21 years at the newspaper, starting out around the time of its founding and rising to become a globe-trotting correspondent reporting from various hot spots around the world. He co-authored two books with USA Today founder Al Neuharth.
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