A religious newspaper said to be the nation's oldest has cut half of its eight-member staff, including the editor.
The Christian Index's board of directors said the changes were part of an overhaul to focus the bimonthly paper's content more narrowly on Georgia.
"We are talking about implementing a formula that will take the Index from being a passive teller of what has already happened to being a proactive force in shaping the future of Georgia," the board said in a statement.
The Index, founded in 1822, has a circulation of about 56,000.
William Neal, the editor since 1993, was given early retirement. The board, which is elected by the Georgia Baptist Convention, also dismissed three other staffers.
"I think it is fair to say that there is a difference of opinion about the direction of the publication," Neal said in an e-mail to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
Interim editor Joe Westbury said the cuts reflect the board's desire that the Index move away from its "heavy international flavor" and generate more original stories.