After two years in the kitchen and cooking up less than financially delicious results, Neil Fowler "resigned" as publisher and CEO of the Toronto Sun.

An excerpt from the Toronto Star story:

In a brief memo to employees, a Sun official said yesterday Fowler had resigned effective immediately and David Swail will be interim publisher until a successor is hired. Swail is Sun Media Corp.'s vice-president of operations for central Canada. He previously held a similar position with the publishing division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. where he oversaw the operation of 11 English-language daily papers, including the National Post.

Luc Lavoie, a spokesman for Quebecor Inc., which owns the Sun, said he could not say how long it might take to replace Fowler officially.

A former English newspaper reporter hired by the Sun in May 2003, Fowler quickly clashed with staff after remarking in an interview that Canadian journalists were "lazy," said Brad Honeywill, chair of the Toronto Sun's bargaining unit.

"He tried to clarify it afterwards that he had meant we need to be more competitive, but he set the tone," Honeywill said. "In recent months, water-cooler conversation was basically around how much longer Fowler would last."

Under Fowler, the paper increased its type size and added coverage of the entertainment industry at the expense of local news, Honeywill said.Once known as the Little Paper that Grew, the tabloid newspaper recently reported that its weekday paid circulation had plummeted 13 per cent to 179,452 in the six months ended March 31. The Sun's circulation on Saturday and Sunday slipped 10 per cent over the same period.