There's a new rooster atop the pecking order at the Miami Herald, and it isn't new publisher David Landsberg, brought in to replace the resigned Jesus Diaz, Jr. It's columnist Carl Hiaasen:
Publisher Jesús Díaz Jr. announced his resignation Tuesday. But he actually quit two weeks ago -- about the time of a blow-up over a column by Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen.Díaz believed Hiaasen's sarcastic essay on the three El Nuevo Herald writers paid by Radio and TV Martí shouldn't run. Hiaasen threatened to quit. Díaz wasn't yielding.
A furious Hiaasen phoned friends close to The Miami Herald's new owner, the McClatchy Co. Within hours, Howard Weaver, McClatchy's top news executive, called The Miami Herald to voice his support for strong columnists in the company's papers.
By the close of business, Díaz reversed course and ordered the column published. Sixteen days later, he resigned as publisher of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, saying the Martí controversy had ``created an environment that no longer allows me to lead our newspapers.''
Now that he's in charge, how will Carl look after the fortunes of the Herald?:
''I said this is a sad day for this newspaper,'' Hiaasen said of his conversation that Friday morning with editorial pages editor Joe Oglesby. ``He said . . . 1,100 people . . . canceled their subscriptions. I said that's not my problem.''
My wish that the new publisher would change course and force the paper to concentrate on reporting local news will apparently remain unfulfilled. In the opinion-filled Herald, opinion continues to rule the roost.
More at Herald Watch.
(Herald login/pswd=crockett@tubbs.com/miamivice.)
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Previous posting:
Adios
Carl's in charge?!?
I love his books but never read his columns because his editorial focus has always seemed ( to me, 700 miles away) to be so local; and believe me, I get plenty of that up here. Also, I'm afraid that if I read too much of his day-job work I might find that I don't like his politics; I don't want to spoil my liking for those great books.
Who can ever forget the turtles in "LUCKY YOU"?
Maybe with this kind of power he will be able to bring his fine sense of humour to the position and let it shine, but I'm afraid that 2nd rate big city newspapers [like ours too]take themselves all to seriously these day and that this paper's quest for mediocrity-- just like that of the AJC and the LA Times -- will not benefit his writing or editorial perspective.
Hope "HOOT" hasn't gone to his head....
Posted by: carl in atlanta at October 4, 2006 08:49 PMI enjoy his books, ("Double Whammy" is my fave) can't stand his columns. He narrowly defines who the sheep and the goats are, and if you've read one long, snarky column about politics, you've read 'em all. It's old.
Ever since I started reading political opinion on the Internet, I marvel when I look at my paper and see the long list of opiners they have on the payroll. All opining the same thing.