BARNICLE UPDATE. It looks like the relationship between Herald publisher Pat Purcell and columnist Mike Barnicle hasn't gotten any better since January. That's when I reported that all was not well, and that the Herald had killed a Barnicle column about former FBI agent John Connolly, now in federal prison for corruptly enabling organized-crime figure James "Whitey" Bulger.

As Barnicle's one-year anniversary with the Herald approached recently, Purcell told me that the columnist would be staying. Now Barnicle's former employer, the Globe, carries an item today (scroll down to "Job Description") that Barnicle and Purcell met recently, and that Barnicle "agreed to redefine and renegotiate my role." Whatever that means.

In any case, Barnicle remains under contract. But with Purcell looking to slash $7 million from his struggling tabloid's bottom line by June 30, this is one deal he probably wishes he'd never made.