*(UPDATED - 8/15/08)

For those of us working in the newspaper industry nowadays, it's an awful new reality: Watching for the latest retirement, buyout, layoff, departure news.

So far, just by perusing the internal list of people who have announced their retirement or decided to leave the paper for other reasons, I've tallied close to 30 people who have left or are leaving the Times newsroom since our "enhanced retirement" incentives were announced in late May. 

Since some readers have asked -- and the official deadline for applying for the buyout passed in late July -- I decided to post a list of recent exits from the Times here, so people can see who's headed out the door. While some of these names are people taking advantage of the early retirement incentives offered by the Times, not all of them are. Some people just happen to be leaving us now, others have used the unrest in the industry to rethink their careers.

Longtime readers may recognize some names: business columnist Helen Huntley (below), Homes Editor Judy Stark, former food critic Chris Sherman, longtime writer and editor Dave Ballingrud, Pulitzer Prize winner and editorial board member Jack Reed. Times executives tell me they will likely release total figures on who has taken the retirement offer -- extended to all staffers over 50 with more than five years' service -- later this month.

Helen offers a few graphs on her departure on her own blog here. The blog Talking Biz News has a funny quote from departing business writer tom Zucco, whose work on the state'es insurance crisis has been invaluable, on their blog here.

The changes at the Times don't just include departures. Editorial board deputy editor Tim Nickens will become editor of editorials when the current editor, Phil Gailey, retires at the end of this month. Business editor Bob Trigaux will soon return to writing, resuming his three-times a week business column, while business reporter Kris Hundley moves to our investigative team.

Of course, we're not the only news organization in the area to experience such losses. Media General's Tampa Tribune and WFLA-Ch. 8 has seen names such as longtime culture writer Kurt Loft and medical editor Irene Maher depart as well, with more to come. Makes you wonder how the face of local journalism will change, once so many experienced journalists on both sides of the bay have gone.

Click the link below to see my unofficial list of who has recently left or is leaving the Times:

Tom Zucco

Bob Jenkins

Ruth Walsh

Ingrid Kohler

Linda Cole

Chris Sherman

Judy Stark

Lee Freeman

Joe Barberis

Mike Moscardini

Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler

Barbara Fredricksen

Deborah Block

Bill Coats

Helen Huntley

Chuin-Wei Yap

Nick Johnson

Lynn Seelye

Scott Long

Chris Cosenza

Jack Reed

Carrie Weimar

Abbie VanSickle

Tamara El-Khoury

Catherine Shoichet

Jessica Parker Gilbert

Jeff Webb

David Ballingrud

Claire Giglio

Chris Cosdon

Maddie Bora

Scott DeMuesy
Mack Goethe
Mike Pease
Ken Helle

Jan Wilcox