The Deseret News' new chief executive finally has been forced to address the big changes he plans for reinventing the state's 160-year-old newspaper. Unfortunately, Clark Gilbert's statements didn't shed much light on rumors of massive layoffs and moving the DNews out of its downtown digs.

It must be a bummer for the new leadership at Deseret Media to have to answer to the community's fears of dismantling a major news source and an icon of the LDS Church, rather than simply carrying out their plans. As it is, they could be triggering a controversy -- Mormons and anti-Mormons worldwide are following the story -- that will rival the fuss created when church leaders ignored the members' outrage and razed of the Coalville Tabernacle.

Here's the non-information Clark gave the DNews staff in an email:

Here's what Gilbert told The Salt Lake Tribune:

Here's what he said in a statement in the DNews that was supposed to allay the anxiety of Mormons worldwide:

Much of the speculation of what is going down at the DNews surrounds Gilbert's pet theory of "disruption." In a nutshell, a "disruptive" business strategy takes advantage of a new, disruptive technology that fundamentally changes the market, sometimes in unexpected ways. Telephone vs. telegraph, horses vs. automobile, solar and wind energy vs. coal-fired energy, and -- in the case of DNews -- newspapers vs. digital media

The theory is, disruptive technology can lead to wrenching change, but it holds huge benefits and profits for those who embrace innovation -- always a gamble. How to do that humanely with an LDS-owned business is Gilbert's challenge. By the way, much of the concern within the industry is not that the DNews is morphing into an digital publication -- that's inevitable. What is worrisome is Gilbert's fondness for cutting seasoned journalists and hard-hitting stories for cheap and "free" on-line content.

For what it's worth, here's the memo that Gilbert sent to the DNews' 150 employees:

Dear Employees, As we've shared with you over the past several weeks, we are analyzing many ways to create a sustainable newspaper of the future. Final decisions have not yet been made about the model that works best for us. When decisions are made, our employees will be the first to know before any other news source.

I know this kind of uncertainty is difficult for everyone and I appreciate your patience during this process. While any self-evaluation can be difficult, I have been impressed with the early efforts from pilot projects and the volume of ideas that have come from my requests for feedback. What is becoming increasingly clear is that a compelling model for the future is emerging.