San Francisco Chronicle
David R. Baker
Tuesday, May 29, 2007

(05-29) 17:55 PDT -- The San Francisco Chronicle announced Tuesday that Managing Editor Robert Rosenthal will leave the paper Friday, as the newsroom braces for a significant shakeup.
Rosenthal, known as Rosey, joined the Chronicle in 2002 after 22 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer. In a note to the staff Tuesday, he said he was leaving "without rancor or acrimony." His departure, he said, would give Editor Phil Bronstein room to restructure the Chronicle's newsroom and take a "more hands-on approach" to running the paper.
The Chronicle announced earlier this month plans to cut 25 percent of the newsroom staff and reorganize the paper.
Bronstein on Tuesday praised Rosenthal's passion for good journalism. Rosenthal emphasized investigations and in-depth features while at the paper.
"Rosey has provided the Chronicle -- and will continue to provide journalism -- with the highest level of integrity and of passion for our craft," Bronstein said. "There is no question that he embodies the greater traditions of newspapering. He is leaving the Chronicle a better place than when he arrived because of his commitment and talent."
Rosenthal said he had not yet decided what to do after leaving. "I hope to help another organization grow and another group of talented people find success," he said.
The paper has not named a replacement for him.
Rosenthal spent most of his career to date at the Philadelphia Inquirer, leaving in 2001 in a disagreement over the direction of the paper after a wave of job cuts. His first job out of college was as a New York Times editorial assistant working with the team that published the Pentagon Papers.
He later served as a foreign correspondent in Kenya, Lebanon and Israel. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for foreign affairs reporting in 1986.