Poor Newsday staffers. First, their VP of circulation, Robert Brennan, pleads guilty to charges that the he spearheaded the paper's circulation scandal, and now, their beat reporters are getting thrown in with all the regular reporters.

"The reporters have essentially rebelled," said a staffer. "They feel they are being treated shabbily."

Over the past weeks, Mancini, Assistant Managing Editor Sandy Keenan and Long Island Editor Cliff Schectman began telling staffers that they were being reassigned. Many beat reporters, for example, were being dumped into a general assignment pool.

The general assignment pool? That's the crew full of recent graduates and struggling new reporters … not for the likes of Long Island Railroad reporters. Can you imagine asking Alex Kuczynski to go from fashion and style goddess to "reporter" or Bonnie Fuller, editorial director and VP of AMI to be just an "editor?"

The Long Island Railroad beat is no joking matter, people. Show some freakin' respect.

DREAD AT SCREWSDAY [Keith J. Kelly, New York Post]
FORMER 'NEWSDAY' EXEC PLEADS GUILTY TO FRAUD [Nat Ives, Ad Age]