Business Notes PUBLISHING

They hardly knew what hit them. That describes the ouster of legendary staffers who have lived out their usefulness to Si Newhouse, chairman of his family's publishing conglomerate. In 1987 William Shawn was suddenly removed as editor of the New Yorker after 35 years. Last year fashion doyenne Grace Mirabella was dethroned from the editorship at Vogue after 17 years; reportedly, she first learned the news of her dismissal from a friend who heard it on TV.

Last week another eminent employee was cleaning out his desk. Robert Bernstein, who in 23 years as head of Random House helped build it into the largest trade-book publisher in the U.S., abruptly announced his resignation. It was only three years ago that he said, "I want to be a publisher until I'm carried out." Bernstein, 66, insists he had no falling out with Newhouse. But to industry insiders the decision seemed all the more sudden because no replacement was named for the high-powered position.