Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

The publisher of the East Bay Express weekly newspaper resigned on Saturday, admitting to “indiscretions” and saying his presence had “become a threat to the mission ....of healthy independent journalism.”

Stephen Buel stepped down one day after posting a lengthy “apology and pledge” on the newspaper’s website in which he admitted that he used derogatory words while discussing a story he had unilaterally removed from the newspaper website that described “white people singing along to live hip-hop songs that contained the N-word.”