The first to go early this morning was a longtime copy editor who, ironically, has been overseeing online content for the past decade. When she burst into tears at the news, the supervisor in charge seemed unprepared, and had to duck into the ladies’ bathroom for paper towel.

And yet, a counselor had been brought in and stationed on the first floor, presumably for grief counseling.

Next to get the severance verdict was an investigative news reporter with six years’ experience. Hadn’t the powers-that-be promised continued, forceful investigative reporting online? The ax continued to fall. A talented writer who posted bright daily features online about entertainment (isn’t that what the new company is promoting?) left the building in tears. A bureau reporter who joined the paper about the same time I did, who shared in the Pulitzer for Katrina reporting, who selflessly took whatever new assignments she was given …. gone. A friend in Special Sections, who has turned out decades of lively Mardi Gras sections, laid off.