Buyout count

Rumor has it that the Ledger editorial department has tallied upwards of 170 takers for the buyout, well beyond the 100-130 that had been sought. Coupled with the equally rumored total of 100-plus for the rest of the building and another hurdle would appear to be passed toward meeting the demands for continued Newhouse stewardship of The Star-Ledger.

Another bird tells me the editorial department at Trenton may have signed on en toto for the buyout.

There can be no sighs of relief just yet. There is no deal with the drivers, thus everything could still come apart. And if it does go through the questions will only be beginning about how to produce our product(s) with a staff that could be halved? Likewise, will what we will be producing bear much resemblance to what we make now?

Four days to the Oct. 1 deadline and then a week past that to find out if it all held together. T-minus 11 and counting toward our future, whether this deal makes it off the launch pad or not.