Editor resigns after trying to boost morale with bake-a-pie day

Here's a story to touch even the most cynical journalistic heart (courtesy of Jim Romenesko).

Bob Stover, the veteran executive editor of Florida Today, came up with an idea to boost sagging morale - a "pie day" in which the newspaper's journalists would bake pies and other treats.

He was in a meeting last Wednesday (8 October) discussing the event when he was summoned to the publisher's office. One staffer told Romenesko that people heard raised voices and "the next thing you know he walks out saying he just resigned."

Stover, 66, later tweeted: "Just resigned after 22 great years as an editor at Florida Today. Leaving great colleagues to carry on their fine work."

Sports reporter Erika Esola tweeted: "I don't think I've ever heard an entire newsroom gasp before." And Romenesko quotes a reporter as telling him: "A lot of us were in tears."

Nobody knows what led to Stover's departure and those who do know are staying tight-lipped. As for the pie day, it went ahead.

Florida Today is a daily that serves a large coastal region of Florida (home of the US space centre). It is owned by Gannett.

Source: Jim Romenesko