The Washington Post … just fired WashingtonPost.com columnist, long-time Bush critic and Obama watchdog (i.e., a real journalist) Dan Froomkin.
What makes this firing so bizarre and worthy of inquiry is that … Froomkin was easily one of the most linked-to and cited Post columnists. At a time when newspapers are relying more and more on online traffic, the Post just fired the person who, in 2007, wrote 2 out of the top 10 most-trafficked columns. In publishing that data, Media Bistro used this headline: “The Post’s Most Popular Opinions (Read: Froomkin).” Isn’t that an odd person to choose to get rid of?
Glenn Greenwald elaborates. Froomkin was one of the few remaining reasons to read the Post.
How odd. Froomkin is one of the handful of folks that I read daily. Now I guess I have to hope to read him daily elsewhere.
Either the editors didn’t get along with the guy or didn’t like his columns. It’s hard to see this as a business decision when the guy’s strength was generating traffic in a medium that is increasingly moving online. C’est la vie, he’s talented and will land on his feet.