His fabrications in The Village Voice were "neither culturally significant nor journalistically shocking," Philadelphia City Paper founder and former owner Bruce Schimmel writes in his weekly column, and the disciplinary actions that resulted were "a shot across the bow of the mother ship of New Journalism." But Duane Swierczynski uses his editor's letter to disagree: "If we're not vigilant about separating truth from fiction, can you imagine what schoolkids will be saying about George W. Bush in 200 years?" Fabrications are too often rewarded, and editors who prod writers for amazing dialogue need to be equally passionate about checking accuracy, Swierczynski argues.
Solomon Jones' final column appears in the Feb. 1 issue of PW. In it, Jones writes that he has had many opportunities in his life, but he is "most grateful for the opportunity that was afforded me 11 years ago, when I walked in the doors of Philadelphia Weekly." Jones is leaving to serve on an exploratory committee that will determine if Congressman Chaka Fattah should run for mayor of Philadelphia.
"The Wheelman" is not only Duane Swierczynski's second novel, it's his second novel this year. His first, "Secret Dead Men," was published in January. Reviewer David J. Montgomery called "The Wheelman" a "slim gem of a crime novel" in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Swierczynski is also the author of nonfiction books on the topics of crime, scams, and beer.
In Philadelphia City Paper's March 24 edition, publisher Paul Curci accuses television networks of sacrificing ethics for the sake of the bottom line and decries broadcast media outlets' practice of airing prepackaged video news releases. Daily Kos, a popular politics and culture blog, featured the opinion piece and offered this observation: "Going so far as to demanding his readers question even the very paper that he puts out, Curci examines the fake news segments put out by the government, why they're unacceptable, and why the GAO, ruling that these fake news snippets are legal, [is] unacceptable."
Aina Hunter won second prize in the "Feature, News Feature or Issue Package" category of the Education Writers Association's 2004 awards. Her entry, "Speak No Evil: Don't Ask, Don't Tell," published in two parts on Sept. 22 and 29, tells the story of Edgar Friedrichs, who was convicted on four felony counts of child sexual abuse and indicted for the murder of one of his students.
When Philadelphia City Paper publisher Paul Curci conducted a national search for a new editor, he spoke to "no less than three dozen candidates," according to his open letter in the paper's latest issue. With input from his staff, he handpicked Philly native Duane Swierczynski, who worked at Philadelphia magazine and Men's Health before moving on to New York and an associate editor position at Details. Curci says that Swierczynski "made good in Philly, elevated his game in New York and chose to return to the city he loves to do what he does best -- lead young writers to excellence."
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