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Sharon Waxman, the Times Hollywood reporter who often caught flack from Gawker and others for the errors in her work, has decided to leave the paper. She’d been on leave to write a book but had intended to return, she says on her blog. Instead, she’ll begin a new Web venture because she says — and this is breaking, people — that print is dead:
Journalism is going through tectonic changes. To some, this is a very scary time for our profession. Like many colleagues, I have observed the shrinking of American newsrooms with concern, and watched closely the continuing decline in print readership along with the price of newspaper stocks. With that has come a caution and paranoia in American newsrooms that is not healthy for the vibrant debate crucial to a democratic society.
Waxman, it turns out, has big ideas that will save us all. But we have two questions about the above statement. One, is the “caution and paranoia” that you’re discussing code for “editors getting angry and insistent about you producing information that is accurate”? And two, Waxman writes articles like “Why Hollywood Is Getting Serious About 3-D” and “Matchmakers Know Superstars Need Love Too.” Good articles, and fun to read, sure. But since when are we talking about “the vibrant debate crucial to a democratic society”?
Sharon Waxman Quits NYT [LA Observed via Gawker]
