Random House Reorganizes

I am about to pick my jaw up from the floor, but here’s the summary of a press release Random House CEO Markus Dohle just sent out:

• The Random House Publishing Group, under the leadership of President and Publisher Gina

  Centrello, will expand to include the imprints of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group, including

  The Dial Press, along with Doubleday’s Spiegel & Grau.

• The Knopf Publishing Group, led by Chairman Sonny Mehta, will expand to include the

  Doubleday and Nan A. Talese imprints from the Doubleday Publishing Group.

• The Crown Publishing Group, under the direction of President and Publisher Jenny Frost, will

  expand to include the other imprints from the Doubleday Publishing Group—Broadway,

  Doubleday Business, Doubleday Religion and WaterBrook Multnomah.

• As a result of the reorganization, Bantam Dell publisher Irwyn Appelbaum and Doubleday publisher Steve Rubin are leaving the company. Appelbaum leaves immediately while Rubin is in discussions with Dohle about “creating a new role for him in the company.”

Wow. Just wow. And that publishing imprint report card? Presto, obsolete.