A month ago, we told you about the Chron’s program to buy out or lay off up to 6 percent of its workforce. Now, thanks to blogHouston, we know who some of the casualties are:

Washington columnist Julie Mason bid farewell to her readers in a blog post today. Of the Chron’s considerable list of blogs, I think she maintained one of the best, and I have no doubt she’ll do just fine.

Transportation reporter Rad Sallee has reportedly taken the buyout. I’ll bet you a dollar to a doughnut he lands at Metro.

As discussed previously, editorial-page editor James Howard Gibbons took the money and ran. According to the terms of the buyout, Gibbons will receive a full year’s pay. Not too bad, considering his output since 2005 has largely consisted of factual errors and rehashes of stale editorials from better newspapers.

Managing editor John Wilburn will take over as “opinion director.” Alleged reader representative Steve Jetton will become Outlook editor, responsible for the letters-to-the-editor section. Jim Newkirk will become the new reader representative, and David Langworthy will become an editoral writer.

In an email from the 14th fairway, Chron editor Jeff Cohen wrote the following:

The mission for John and his team remains to intelligently evaluate issues of public concern, to explain them and, after evaluating all sides, to help set an agenda for the community. Our writers should be passionate, clear and firm both in unsigned editorials and on the op-ed pages. The change these days is that the institution is no longer the sole gatekeeper. Our goal is to outsource some of the idea exchange to those on the other side of the gate.

He doesn’t want an open, honest debate of the issues, you see. He wants to outsource, as though his customers are assembly-line workers in China.

There’s no gate anymore, Jeffy.