Five employees at CQ Roll Call have been given buyouts at the publication, according to a newsroom memo sent out by Editorial Director Susan Benkelman obtained by FishbowlDC.

The employees are: John Bicknell, editor of CQ Weekly; Robert Healy, senior editor; Melinda Nahmias, deputy editor of CQ Weekly; Lauren Whittington, leadership editor; and Randy Wynn, chief news editor.

We hear that part of the buyout is roughly five months-worth of pay.

“We’re going to set a date for an appropriate, official celebration of these employees’ long and wonderful careers, most likely the third week in May, and we’ll make sure everyone is aware of those plans,” Benkelman wrote in the memo. “In the meantime, please wish them well on this next phase of their lives and careers. We’ll also have some snacks and drinks in the newsroom late tomorrow for these employees’ last day. I’ll bring the wine, and the Kleenex.”

FishbowlDC reported Thursday that several staffers had submitted requests for buyouts and that decisions could come by the end of the day. It looks like that panned out.

See the full memo… Read more

After more than a decade at CQ, John Bicknell will move to Roll Call as editor of Special Publications.  In a memo announcing the appointment, Scott Montgomery explained the role:

“John will take over the editorial pages of Roll Call, where his breadth of experience on policy news will help us freshen these forums for public debate and expand them in innovative ways online. In addition, John will be a vital contributor as the lead editor on producing the special sections that Roll Call publishes over the course of the year, as well as partnering with David Hawkings on our extremely successful CQ Roll Call Outlook magazines.”

While at CQ, Bicknell covered everything from defense and foreign policy to commerce and industry.  Most recently, he’s worked alongside David Meyers to complete the group’s latest edition of “Politics In America.”  Congrats to John!

John Bicknell is returning to CQ to take the post of deputy editor for their Member Information and Research team, managing CQ members products and Politics in America.

A memo from John Dineen today, announced Bicknell’s return saying:

John left CQ on Jan. 15 to try other career options. Having done that, John rejoins us today.

In the past, Bicknell served as night editor of the CQ Daily Monitor, deputy managing editor of CQ Today and daily news, deputy editor for commerce and industry, deputy editor for defense and foreign policy, editor for social policy, editor of Homeland Security and editor for defense and foreign policy.

From CQ’s internal announcement:

I am pleased to announce that John Bicknell will become editor of CQ Homeland Security. John makes the move after serving as editor of the Social Policy desk since early 2005. John will be replacing Joe Burey, who stepped down in July. John brings a wealth of experience, both at CQ and elsewhere, to his new position. He joined CQ in 1999, coming from the Bradenton Herald in Florida, where he served as features editor and business editor over 12 years. Since joining CQ, John has held a number of positions, including deputy editor on the Commerce and Industry desk, deputy editor for Defense and Foreign Policy, and most recently, heading up Social Policy coverage. The date for John’s migration from the 5th floor to the cozy confines of the 2nd floor hasn’t been set.