Monday, November 2, 2009

Newsroom rage: Wash Post features editor throws writer to the ground, lands punches

In a dispute with writer Manuel Roig-Franzia on Friday, veteran feature editor Henry Allen threw Roig-Franzia to the ground and landed several punches before being pulled off by other employees.

Apparently the fracas began after Allen criticized a piece written by Roig-Franzia.

Allen, according to sources, said: “This is total crap. It’s the second worst story I have seen in Style in 43 years.”

Roig-Franzia then wandered into the newsroom. A veteran foreign correspondent, he has been turning out political features for Style. He heard Allen’s rant and stopped by his desk.

“Oh, Henry,” he supposedly said, “don’t be such a c********r.”

Allen lunged at Roig-Franzia, threw him to the newsroom floor, and started throwing punches. Roig-Franzia tried to fend him off. Brauchli and others pulled the two apart.

The Washingtonian is asking readers to name the worst features story in the past 43 years.

Hat tip: email

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Emotions are high and reporters and editors are starting to crack under the pressure of being reassigned, increased workload, pay cuts and seeing many of their friends taking buyouts or being axed by "the man." This incident is no surprise. Look for more of the same in the coming weeks.

Anonymous said...

For the politically correct, the hyphenated guy whose name ends in a vowel wins.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

4:36 why don't to pop down to the thread about Anderson Cooper. Nice touch on the bagger comment, hate filled liberal toady.
So interesting that you would choose to insert a sexual slur here.
Tells us a lot about you.

Kevin Gregory said...

4:36 deleted for violating the rules.

John Altevogt said...

The editor finally figured out how we feel about the crap we find in The Post.

Anonymous said...

Yet Another Story About Violent Reporters PATTERICO

An isolated incident? Hardly. Like lightning strikes, these incidents of criminal behavior by journalists are all too commonplace — as iowahawk reminded us last month in a critical (albeit recycled) piece about violence in our newsrooms:

A Denver newspaper columnist is arrested for stalking a story subject.

In Cincinnati, a television reporter is arrested on charges of child molestation.

A North Carolina newspaper reporter is arrested for harassing a local woman.

A drunken Chicago Sun-Times columnist and editorial board member is arrested for wife beating.

A Baltimore newspaper editor is arrested for threatening neighbors with a shotgun.

In Florida, one TV reporter is arrested for DUI, while another is charged with carrying a gun into a high school.

A Philadelphia news anchorwoman goes on a violent drunken rampage, assaulting a police officer.

In England, a newspaper columnist is arrested for killing her elderly aunt.

Unrelated incidents, or mounting evidence of that America’s newsrooms have become a breeding ground for murderous, drunk, gun-wielding child molesters?

The pattern is undeniable.

Anonymous said...

3:46: Your absolutely right. It is not only in the newsrooms that the tension is high. The guys that do the heavy work for the paper have had their major blow ups as well.

Anonymous said...

Classic line from the Washingtonian.com piece:

"It should be noted that Allen is nearly seventy, but he served in the Marines in Vietnam. He also won a Pulitzer prize in 2000 for criticism. Both apparently came into play when Allen jumped Roig-Franzia."

Anonymous said...

Today's newsroom slogan: "Let's Get Ready To Ruuumble!!"