Postie Bob Barkered for Bad Journalism
This bit of Washington Post gossip is my favorite media story of the year (emphasis added):
Details are sketchy, but numerous witnesses report that veteran feature editor Henry Allen punched out feature writer Manuel Roig-Franzia on Friday. The fracas took place in sight of Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli’s office. Brauchli rushed to separate the two.
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.
According to many sources, the incident began when Style editor Ned Martel assigned a semi-political story to Monica Hesse and Roig-Franzia. Playing off of an inadvertent disclosure last week that many congressmen are being investigated for ethics violations, Martel asked the two Style writers to compile a list of similar disclosures in the past. They came up with a “charticle” with a dozen examples, starting with Robert E. Lee’s Civil War battle plans for Antietam showing up wrapped around cigars.
Allen took a look and didn’t like. He started ranting about the number of mistakes he had found.
Hesse at one point asked him to send the copy back to her. She got a bit teary at the verbal beatdown.
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 cocks——-.”
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.
Veteran Style writers said they knew Allen wasn’t happy. He had come up in Style’s heady days, when writers could wax for a hundred inches on the wonder of plastic lawn furniture or the true meaning of the Vietnam War Memorial. No more. Working part time on contract, Allen seethed over the lost art of long-form journalism.
Desperate to determine the first worst story in Washington Post Style Section history, I’ve e-mailed Mr. Allen. Should he report back I’ll alert readers. Meanwhile feel free to make your nomination in comments.
You are asking us to find the “worst story in Washington Post Style Section history”? You are a total geek.
— ray butler · Nov 2, 07:44 PM · #
I’m guessing Allen didn’t much like Hank Steuver’s 2,000 word piece on Madonna’s 50th birthday, or Steuver’s somewhat shorter piece about Prince Caspian’s hair.
— Matt Frost · Nov 2, 08:23 PM · #
The economy has everyone uptight. The next thing you will read about is a florist lashing a rude customer with a fistful of peonies.
— mike farmer · Nov 2, 09:23 PM · #
I’d be shocked if it was a Steuver piece, Steuver can be silly but I’m guessing the objection here was that the piece was outright lame and without a real audience. I know I read a sentence or two of it and then moved on.
(I normally read and enjoy Steuver pieces for the record, including if they’re on topics I normally would skip).
— Greg Sanders · Nov 2, 11:58 PM · #
So, an editor chews somebody out for writing a crap piece and some douchebag who probably thinks he’s slumming by writing for the Style section sasses him in front of the entire newsroom? That’s a pretty good time for an ass beating.
Mike
— MBunge · Nov 3, 12:57 AM · #
Greg: you’re right, picking on Steuver’s probably unfair. But the past ten or so years have not been kind to daily arts & style writers, and when I read a Steuver piece, even one that I like (meaning ones where he’s not just advertising his post as Senior Correspondent On Non-Newsworthy Gay Issues), I just think “he’s lucky to be getting paid for what he does, when so many people do this just as well for free.”
I think, for the record, that Philip Kennicott comes up with a knockout piece every now and then.
— Matt Frost · Nov 3, 03:31 AM · #
Frost, so, you up to Big Money now, or what, man? Because Body of an American deserved a fuckin’ post.
OK: somebody please explain the Bob Barker ref to this old fart, please. No, don’t give me a link, just summarize.
— Sanjay · Nov 3, 03:13 PM · #
Sanjay,
I stalled out for a while during 1919, and am just getting to “Body of an American.” Thanks for the kick in the ass, will post about 1919 this week.
— Matt Frost · Nov 3, 04:11 PM · #
Sanjay:
The reference is to a widely quoted scene from Adam Sandler the movie Happy Gilmore. Sandler’s character is paired with Barker at a golf tournament. They get in a fight and Barker kicks butt, although not before Sandler delivers the line: “The price is wrong, #$%^&.”
(Self-censoring as I don’t remember the policy on profanity).
— Greg Sanders · Nov 3, 04:16 PM · #
Wow, Sanders, that’s a double thank you, for clearing that up for me and for letting me know that if I messed something, it was just an Adam Sandler movie…
— Sanjay · Nov 3, 04:41 PM · #
We don’t have a policy, but I have no problem with profanity that’s descriptive, rather than vituperative.
— Matt Frost · Nov 3, 04:47 PM · #
Allen said the first worst was a story he spiked that never saw print. Apparently Hesse and Roig-Franzia’s had basic factual errors like saying things occurred in Virginia when they happened in Maryland (i.e. losing Lee’s plans), that sort of thing. Allen also got bought out as a cost-saving measure and had three weeks left to go on his contract. So, you know, why not take a swing at some asshole employee who thinks he can call his editor a cocksucker?
— Erik Vanderhoff · Nov 3, 05:07 PM · #
Henry Allen has stated for the record that the worst Style story he ever saw was a piece on the late, great Paul Robeson, written in 1999 by a scribe no longer at the Post. It was not only full of factual errors, but contained a number of flights of fancy by the writer that had no bearing on the story. It was spiked, as another poster noted.
— Jack Purdy · Nov 3, 07:29 PM · #
I have no real substantive points to add to this. I only want to point out — and this may only make sense to readers who work in cubicles — I printed out and have an Allen story from I believe 2006 on how our leadership have lost sense of what it means to win a war. I printed the article out from the Web site and have brought it with me to multiple cubicle moves. Excellent article. Wish I could find a link for those have not read/do not remember reading his piece. I used to look back at it every so often.
— Dave · Nov 7, 05:28 AM · #