What happens to those who take the buyout?

Media Life Magazine has a nice story about journalists who have taken buyouts recently from their newspaper, and what they go on to. One of those featured in the article is Kathy Thatcher, a former assistant business editor at the Dallas Morning News.

Lisa Snedeker wrote, “Kathy Thatcher is one of 111 Dallas Morning News employees who decided to take the recent buyout offer.

“’I’m interviewing for editing and public relations jobs – with regular hours and less stress,’ says Thatcher, after more than a decade at the Dallas paper, most recently as an assistant business editor.

“’Only one opportunity is with a publication, and it’s a trade magazine. I have two elementary-school children and a husband who won’t leave Dallas, so I’m out of the newspaper business, probably for good.’

“She says others who took buyouts are going back to school to pursue master’s degrees or are retiring. One went to work for the Associated Press.”

“Overall, among takers of buyouts, there’s a sense that the good years are past for newspaper work, and the time is right to leave, as painful as it may be.”

Read more here.