Get Your Obits Ready

First they fired John Strausbaugh, and then they canned Christopher Caldwell's column. On the bright side, they've still got Alexander Cockburn and Jim Knipfel, but I've got a feeling we're on our way to the point where there's little reason left to read the New York Press at all.

Update: Correcting earlier reports, Caldwell says the decision to stop his column was his own. He also has some kind words for the new editorial crew. I trust he's right about the first matter, and I hope he's right about the second.

Comments

[Franklin Harris]

Jim Knipfel's column is about the only reason to read the new-and-not-improved New York Press. (And, sadly, I wonder how long Jim can keep it up.) If the Press wants to give someone the boot, I suggest Armond White.

[Jeremy Lott]

White's not a bad candidate but my vote would go to Michelangelo Signorile.

[dani]

I fail to see how having a paranoid, communist-sympathizing, knee-jerk anti-American/anti-Semite like Cockburn on staff is a "bright side," even if he is a talented wordsmith. I've been reading the paper for more than 10 years, and I can say it certainly has declined in relevancy to me and amongst my friends. It was once much more fun and much more outrageous. Except for William Bryk and the occasionally entertaining Slackjaw piece or Armond White review, there are slim pickings for me in that paper. Even the letters section hasn't been interesting in 3 or 4 years.

[Anonymous]

al cabal's quite the entertainer as well. byrk's history pieces are neat. i feel bad i've never been able to read an entire mugger piece though...like fighting your way through chicken pox.

[Jesse Walker]

I like Cabal's pieces too, but unless I'm mistaken he doesn't have a regular column like Cockburn and Knipfel do. For that matter, I also like some of the criticism the Press runs (but not Armond White!).

Byrk's name doesn't ring a bell -- I'll have to look for some of his stuff.

[Kevin Carson]

Dani:

So Cockburn's an "anti-Semite," eh? Know who else is? That guy at the diner who overcooked Uncle Leo's hamburger on Seinfeld. And Uncle Leo's girlfriend, who laughed when Jerry mentioned the incident in his act.

[s.m. koppelman]

Me, I used to enjoy Taki's brilliant parodies of Victorian-era British Empire liquidate-the-poor essays. He did a great job using satire to illustrate how economic disparities go hand in hand with power disparities right down to basic human rights and dignity.