Brett Anderson Offered Chance to Return to NOLA.com

The people behind NOLA.com and the Times-Pic are just messing with us now, right? After being told he would be losing his job as part of the paper's massive round of layoffs this week, the shadowy media group has offered him the chance to stay. After the company took some serious heat for the layoff, editor Jim Amoss is totally backtracking, claiming they never actually laid him off. Anderson hasn't accepted the offer yet.

To recap: the Times-Picayune is moving to a primarily online format, delivering physical papers three days a week, as part of a newly-formed company called the NOLA Media Group. This "transition" apparently required that they lay off over 200 people, including Beard Award-winning critic, Brett Anderson, this Tuesday. Anderson was told he was laid off because of his Nieman Fellowship at Harvard.

Now, Amoss is saying, "We told Brett then that he would have a job with us when the fellowship ended. We should have communicated that this week when we announced the changes at our paper. We intend to honor our commitment to Brett. His work has been integral to the recovery of the dining scene in New Orleans." Which of course raises the question of why in the hell it took 3 days to decide they needed to clarify things. (Oh right, because it's probably not true.) It'll be interesting to see if Anderson accepts the offer?he hasn't yet?because honestly, while being the restaurant critic in New Orleans is probably awesome, why would the guy want anything to do with this company?

Well done, NOLA Media Group. This couldn't be any more of a clusterfuck.

· Brett Anderson Invited to Return After Nieman Fellowship [NOLA.com]
· All Brett Anderson Coverage [-ENOLA-]