CL's Atlanta editor Ken Edelstein reports that he laid off two editorial staffers on Monday: Senior editor Scott Freeman and senior writer David Lee Simmons. In addition, the St. Petersburg Times reports that CL's Tampa paper has let go of Lance Goldenberg, who'd been a freelance film critic for the paper for 19 years. In his statement, Tampa editor David Warner said that the hole in film coverage will be filled with staff writers from CL's newly acquired papers in Chicago and Washington.
One week after a partially fabricated story by Voice writer Nick Sylvester started a media furor, acting Editor-in-Chief Doug Simmons has been replaced by Senior Editor Ward Harkavy, the New York Post reports. A photograph of a note that Executive Editor Mike Lacey scrawled on a napkin is posted on the Village Voice Web site: "Doug Simmons is no longer acting editor. Ward Harkavy, long time senior editor, and Arizona Crony, is now interim editor. Call us tomorrow for next update." (Harkavy is a former New Times Inc. employee.) Lacey met with the New York Times' David Carr yesterday, but Carr told the Post, "we had a nice conversation about the editorial opportunity at the Village Voice, but it didn't involve me editing the paper." This morning, Lacey confirmed Simmons' departure but declined to say if the Sylvester incident was a factor. Harkavy told AP that he expected Sylvester would return to the Voice after his suspension.
