earlier: "Is Downie...Gone?!?"

Erik Wemple heard similar rumors and called Downie last night:

Last night, Washington City Paper called Downie to ask about this big, huge, major announcement on Thursday. His response: "There's no announcement coming on Thursday."

Maybe Friday?

One Postie tells us that the bottom is that Downie's gone, regardless of when (within a few months, at the latest most likely). The only real question is who will succeed him and the fact that Katharine Weymouth hasn't found a replacement may explain why Downie's still around.

>UPDATE: Michael Calderone speculates on who might replace Downie and check out FishbowlDC's earlier speculation on that subject.