Weekend critics.

For the Minnesota Monitor, Paul Schmelzer reports on the "Tumult at City Pages: Film Editor Axed, Cost-Cutting Memo Leaked." That film editor is the excellent Rob Nelson, who himself contributes some of the liveliest reviews you'll find in the Voice media chain. In a comment posted to the entry, former CP staffer Britt Robson speaks for many:

Remember all that bullshit about New Times investing heavily in the quality of their newspapers? On a staff that desperately needs experience and credibility, Rob Nelson was one of the few remaining stalwarts. He is one of only 55 members of the National Society of Film Critics, which requires election by the other members for entry. The Get Real documentary film series he founded and has curated since 2001 has been an artistic feather in CP's cap since 2001, and, not incidentally, a moneymaker for the paper. His own prose, and the stories he recruited and edited as the paper's film editor, were always spotless and required minimal effort from the otherwise beleaguered CP copy editor.

Now he's shown the door. No class. No grace. These assholes continue to make me look smart for bugging out at the first sight of their weasly, frat-boy, penny-pinching m.o.

Via Movie City News.

"This is not good," comments Dave Kehr. "Soon, we will have a choice between the re-animated Paulettes who dominate the print media and the Knowles-nothing fan boys who dominate the internet. Which in my book isn't much of a choice at all."

"Contrary to Disney's press release, I did not demand the removal of the Thumbs™." Roger Ebert responds to an AP story; David Poland comments.

"In a decade-plus of Web exploration, nearly every daily has felt the growing pains that any new news tool requires." At Editor & Publisher, Joe Strupp considers 12 lessons learned. Via Anne Thompson.

Posted by dwhudson at August 25, 2007 9:03 AM