Whitney, I was under the impression that she retired, but that might be based on faulty information. I have not heard about her surfacing anywhere. However, if you check the archives of the PW Daily email newsletter, they’ve been publishing new contact information for laid-off industry folks. If she’s provided that information, they’ll have it.

I saw this today — it took PW a while to compose something to address this. It will be interesting to see how Reed handles these challenges overall, especially in light of the corresponding layoffs at Daily Variety. I think the PW audience is filled with tech-savvy folks, but there remains a large population who will be underserved if this transition isn’t managed properly. On the plus side, maybe they’ll find a way to fix the blurbs in their newsletters for blog postings. They don’t give enough info to entice me to click through —

And this, from today’s PW Daily, is what those in the biz call “burying the lede”:

“BBrian Kenney has been named editorial director for Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and will continue to direct the day-to-day operations of School Library Journal. All three magazines are owned by Reed Business Information. The announcement was made yesterday by Ron Shank, group publisher of RBI’s publishing division. Kenney’s promotion came the same day that RBI announced companywide layoffs which were dictated by the downturn in the advertising market, the company said in a statement.

Among those on the PW staff who are leaving the magazine are Sara Nelson, editor-in chief since 2005, and Daisy Maryles, executive editor, who had been with the magazine for more than four decades. Shank thanked Nelson for her four years at the helm of PW, noting that her “personality, talent, energy and insight will be missed.” Maryles, who began at the magazine as an assistant in the editorial department, has for many years managed the Bestsellers lists and also overseen the religion category coverage, both in print and online, as well as the Show Daily published at BEA.

Shank said that while the business performed better in 2008 than in 2007, advertising support continues to decline. In promoting Kenney to the top spot at PW, LJ and SLJ, Shank said he was impressed by Kenney’s “outstanding grasp of the transitional challenges we face moving from print to online. His mission will be to speed up this process and elevate content quality for greatest exposure in new formats.””

I know, I know, baaaaaad joke.

Agree on the semantics issue, but it’s pretty rare that someone at Sara Nelson’s level will get laid back on once Reed gets back on its feet (providing Reed does get back on its feet). Of course, I once had a boss, in reference to the motion picture business, say “You aren’t anyone in this town until you’ve been fired at least once.” I think Sara Nelson and some of the others — they have good talent there! — will do just fine. Reed? Not feeling the love.