| HARRIS RESIGNS:
Jay Harris' resignation as publisher of the San Jose Mercury News March 19 sent shockwaves throughout the paper's newsroom, including the newsroom of Nuevo Mundo, the Spanish-language weekly that Harris founded during his seven-year tenure. "If it weren't for Jay Harris, there simply would not be a Nuevo Mundo," said its editor Larry Romero. "He is going to be missed. It is a big loss." In his resignation letter, Harris, an African-American long respected for his efforts to diversify the nation's newsrooms and coverage of non-white communities, criticized the Knight Ridder chain's emphasis on profits that he said diminished the newspaper's role as a public servant. Romero has worked for the Mercury News for 21 years under four different publishers. He has been the editor of Nuevo Mundo for the past four years. The weekly, launched five years ago, has a circulation of 60,000. It is distributed at more than 1,200 sites. Romero credited Harris with the creation of Viet Mercury, another Mercury News weekly that targets the community's Vietnamese population. Nuevo Mundo staff writer Claudia Meléndez told Weekly Report that during an editorial meeting with the entire Mercury News staff on March 20, the Mercury News' executive editor David Yarnold reassured Nuevo Mundo staff that no editorial members will lose their jobs. Romero credited Harris with improving diversity of Mercury News' coverage. He said he believes that Nuevo Mundo will not be affected by Harris' departure.
LALO:
University Press Syndicate will begin twice-a-week syndication of the editorial cartoon "Lalo" by Lalo Alcaraz, starting March 25. Twenty-five newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Dallas Morning News and The Los Angeles Times, are among initial clients. The single-panel cartoon will be syndicated in English and Spanish. Editors interested in carrying the cartoon can call Universal at (800) 255-6734. Universal expects to have the comic available to view on its Web site (www.ucomics.com) by mid-April.
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