Washington Times Turmoil Continues Amid Resignations, Uncertainty, And Panic

Washington Times Turmoil Continues Amid Resignations, Uncertainty, And Panic

So, here's what's going on at your Washington Times. Confusion! Panic! Resignations! Clampdowns! This week, The Politico is not the most terrifying and sad place to work in Washington, DC. That's actually impressive!

-- Executive editor John Solomon is definitely gone! I guess it was a pretty clear sign when the Times took his parking space away, right? Well, yesterday, the paper, communicating through Don Meyer at Rubin Meyer Communications, said that Solomon's resignation was effective, uhm... six days ago. Naturally, this touched off newsroom panic.

One senior member of the newsroom suggested that it was time to look for a new job while a younger reporter told us, "we're in trouble without John. Solomon had the vision, heart and had begun to make the Times a real force in Washington news media."

-- Employees have been told to stop talking to the press. Which is too bad, because the drama is exquisite. Managing editor David Jones has been weeping over the loss of Solomon. Employees at the paper's field offices are "feeling isolated." White House bureau chief Matt Mosk is currently following the president on his trip to Asia. Are his colleagues lending comfort, during this time? Will there be a paper to return to, when the trip concludes? Will Matt Mosk, inspired by the majesty and the people of Asia, venture off on a voyage of personal discovery, seeking romance and adventure?

-- Where is the paper going from here? Days ago, published Jonathan Slevin told TPM, "We expect The Washington Times to continue to serve its readers and viewers for years to come." But, in the same report, anonymous sources gave TPM's Ben Frumin some worrisome news:

A former Times staffer also tells TPM that the newspaper may have lost immediate access to the stream of money that helps fund the Times. According to the source, the newspaper used a stream of additional investments from the parent company that owns the Times to keep its operation going. But one of the three executives fired on Sunday -- chairman Dong Moon Joo -- was apparently the one responsible for securing those additonal investments. It was his main function, our source says. Without additional cash infusions from the parent company run by Preston Moon, it's possible that the Times will have serious short-term cash problems, we're told.

So, maybe the Times staff spent the day yesterday playing murder mystery games, who knows?

-- Is Friend to Eat The Press and Washington Times society reporter Liz Glover going to just walk up into the office and seize control of the operations using only her boundless personal charisma? Let's hope so! In the meantime, however, Glover is hard at work, getting stood up by Carrie Prejean.

-- Another casualty: perennial anger-management candidate Lanny Davis has told the paper that he will no longer contribute his "Purple Nation" column.

In Davis' e-mail to Times editors, he thanked the staff of the paper, but said "In light of the announcement of John Solomon's resignation, I am no longer comfortable writing a column for the Washington Times. I began writing because John asked me to. And now with him gone, I cannot continue."

And that's the state of your Moonie newspaper! More news as circumstances develop.

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot