Howell Raines's Tenure: It Left a Nasty Mark (what? no kumbaya moments?)

Washington Post ^ | Monday, June 9, 2003; Page C01 | Howard Kurtz

[Liz]

Now, of course, it's easy for some New York Times staffers to unload on Howell Raines.

Jerelle Kraus, a Times art director, told reporters that Raines reminds her of "Caligula" and is "the nastiest editor I've ever worked with." One Times veteran says there is still "venom" in the air toward the departed executive editor.

But since when are newsrooms supposed to be democracies? Or editors supposed to be warm, hand-holding types? Running a huge newspaper is a rough business that sometimes requires knocking heads. Can Raines really have resigned under pressure because much of the staff found him an unpleasant son of a gun?

The answer is yes -- a more popular editor would have ridden out the storm -- but it's more complicated than that. Raines, whose considerable strengths as an editor have been overlooked during the media furor, played an inside game -- writing memos and holding meetings with disaffected staffers. He made little effort to defend the paper publicly, during either the Jayson Blair fallout or the newsroom anger at comments by reporter Rick Bragg, who resigned over his extensive use of stringers.

[Liz]

......a Times art director (said) Raines reminds her of "Caligula" and is "the nastiest editor I've ever worked with."

Confirms conservative perception about these phony calculating liberals. For public consumption they're a bunch of "tolerant, compasionate" sonofaguns. But behind closed doors, they are demonic in their contempt for mankind especially those unfortunates who work under them. Liberals are haters of the first order. Watta surprise (/sarcasm off). We need laws to protect us from liberal haters.

[TomB]

I don't have any references for this, but I've read stories about Michael Moore being REALLY nasty to the people that work for him. So much for being for the "little guy".

[Liz]

Yeah, but Moore is only mean when they get between him and his Happy Meal. (/sarcasm off).

[TomB]

Yeah, but Moore is only mean when they get between him and his Happy Meal

Or his money.

[Mr. Bird]

But since when are newsrooms supposed to be democracies? Or editors supposed to be warm, hand-holding types? Running a huge newspaper is a rough business that sometimes requires knocking heads.

I'm not a newsman, so I wouldn't know if there are particular nuances to running a newspaper vs. other businesses. That said, companies in general are not democracies, and most top managers are not "hand-holding" types. But, with few exceptions, successful companies are not run by people who are loathesome to the staff. A successful manager can "knock heads" and remain respected because the action is warranted.

But why is running a huge newspaper such "rough business"? Compared to any other large business?

[DPB101]

New York Magazine goes off on Pinch today:

Michael Wolff

[OldFriend]

Aww, they're just mad cause he took the moose with him when he left.

[Tamzee]

Thanks for the NY Magazine link for the article about Pinch. Now THAT was fun ;-)

[DPB101]

Nothing better than to see those reporting the story to become the story. They always have been the real story.