Press co-publisher Jed Morey told Newsday writer James T. Madore that Fisher has been released from her obligation as a columnist and has "moved on to bigger projects," although he would not specify what those projects are. Madore calls the former Long Island Lolita the Press' "most famous columnist," and quotes a media studies professor who speculates that the move will hurt the weekly's circulation. (Long Island Press famously exposed Newsday's inflated circulation figures last year.)
Journalist Maurice Possley claims that two of Fisher's columns about a Texas arson case were only slightly changed versions of articles he and Steve Mills wrote for the Chicago Tribune, according to New York Daily News gossip columnist Ben Widdicombe. The Long Island Press posted a response suggesting that Possley was seeking fame by exploiting Fisher's notoriety. The response concludes by thanking Possley "for creating the opportunity for us to document and remind ourselves about all the research Ms. Fisher puts into her columns."
"If I Knew Then," a book written by Amy Fisher and Robbie Woliver -- a columnist and the editor at Long Island Press, respectively -- is featured prominently in an article by Sarah Glazer that appears in The New York Times' April 24 Sunday Book Review. The book is discussed as a "self-publishing" success story. Read Glazer's article here.
Long Island Press has discovered that an employee of one of its carriers dumped papers at a salvage yard on at least two occasions, reports Newsday. The independent carrier has since fired the employee. According to the Newsday story, a separate (and unidentified) newspaper distributor says that he first notified Long Island Press about the dumping 15 weeks ago, and raised the issue again a couple of weeks ago -- when he saw enough papers being offloaded at the salvage yard "to fill a dump truck." Long Island Press recently ran stories about Newsday dumping papers, and Newsday is now under federal investigation for its circulation practices.
Amy Fisher, best known as the Long Island teenager who shot her lover's wife in the face, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Sept. 27 to discuss her new autobiography, If I Knew Then… The book is co-authored by Robbie Woliver, editor-in-chief of AAN member paper Long Island Press, where Fisher is a columnist. During the interview, Oprah asked Fisher what she's learned as a result of her ordeal. "Obviously, it's not nice to shoot people," Fisher replied, laughing. "I'm more self-reflective. I learned to be more compassionate."
