Word out of the Los Angeles Daily Journal newsroom is that the legal paper lopped off its copy desk last night — the whole thing. I've heard it from a few sources, one of whom emails that deadlines will be pushed earlier in the day, writers are being asked to suggest their own headlines and line editors will back read each other's edited copy. The editor staffing was already thin, with recent departures not replaced. Emails one staffer:

Honestly, how do you put out a paper without a copy desk? We're all very shell-shocked. The lay-offs included a veteran copy-editor who had been at the paper for 15 years, and who was completly unaware she was on the chopping block. We're all scrambling around, trying to figure out how we're going to keep doing our jobs without copy editors.

I have a message into editor Martin Berg. (Yes, the headline typo was deliberate.)

* No sugar coating: Berg emails back.

I've had some tough days in the newspaper business and this is the toughest.The realities are that we are in difficult times and face hard choices. It sounds trite, but there are just no easy answers. The Daily Journal has an extraordinary staff. We're still committed to producing high-quality, ambitious journalism. It will take some adjustments, but we're going to find ways to continue to serve our community with the resources we have.