The Corvallis Gazette-Times and Bennett Hall have parted ways, with neither willing to elaborate as to why.
Hall, on his Linkedin profile, reveals leaving the newspaper in June after almost 25 years. There appears to be no other public notice of his departure.
Hall had been elevated to Editor-in-Chief a little over one year ago, having served in various reporting and editing roles beforehand. Publisher Shanna Cannon, when asked, declined to comment over the departure, but she did disclose that the paper is seeking someone new for the top editorial post. For Hall’s part, he has not responded to our requests for comment.
At press time, Kyle Odegard identifies himself in his outgoing voicemail as Hall’s interim replacement. The paper’s printed masthead only identifies an editorial board of Cannon, Odegard, and Mark Ylen, without revealing titles for the latter two.
High-profile layoffs have become the norm at the Gazette-Times/Democrat-Herald in recent years. Longtime Editor-in-Chief Mike McInally was let go for budgetary reasons in November of 2019, and four reporters were dismissed the year prior. Also in 2018, The Gazette-Times office relocated out of Corvallis, moving to Albany.
By Advocate Staff
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