The Baltimore Sun's editorial pages will be making a shift at the end of July when longtime cartoonist Mike Lane takes his leave of the company through a buyout he recently accepted.

Back in November of 2000, just months after Tribune Co. purchased the Sun from the Times Mirror Company, the publisher announced that buyouts were available to staffers who had been at the paper for 10 years or more. The move was thought to "eliminate the need for layoffs," the Baltimore Business Journal reported at the time. Many Sun reporters fell into that category, and slowly but surely, they made moves over the last few years. Lane finally decided to do the same a short time ago, and tells his story on the Cagle blog over at Slate. Check out the July 17, 2004 entry by Lane himself. (At the moment, it's entry #2 - sorry, no permalinks over there just yet.)

And that's they way I feel about drawing editorial cartoons: I think I'm getting the hang of it, and I'm going to continue drawing for Mr. Cagle, without the damp hand of editing I've known lately and without the sword of Damocles hanging over my head. I'm now free to actually create. Where will it take me?

If you're a fan of Lane's work, don't fret - Cagle Cartoons' Cari Dawson Bartley confirmed Monday that his work will continue to be syndicated by the company, even after his departure from the Sun. Microsoft's Slate also has his work on their site in their Cagle section.

The good news is, hit spy-drama Alias will live into the fall of 2005.

The bad news, if you don't have cable or satellite, is that it will be on TNT.

Five years ago, this would have been "bad" news in reality, but I think by fall of 2005, the penetration numbers for non-over the air broadcasting will be higher than now.