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have any jobs at all, when the transition was due to take place on January 1st, 1977, eight months away.

During those eight months from April to December 31st, I was editor of the editorial page, publishing -- getting out a daily editorial page, for which I was just as responsible and exclusively responsible as I had been the previous fifteen years. And here I had a staff that was being absolutely undermined by demands for immediate action -- resignation, transfers to other jobs on the Times, etc. -- imposed by my successor who was not to take office for another six to eight months.

Let me just ask a question of clarification. Did you say to me that Max Frankel went to individual members of your staff and approached them individually, without sitting down to talk to you about what the transition might be like? Did you have any meetings with Frankel at this time?

Let me answer --

Let me turn the tape over.

Let me try to answer that.

One moment, please.

[END TAPE TWO, SIDE ONE; BEGIN TAPE TWO, SIDE TWO]