Washington City Paper Editor Dishes on State of Journalism, Alts

december 13, 2004  01:54 pm
Interviewed by the Columbia Journalism Review's Campaign Desk, Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple says the reports of his profession's death are greatly exaggerated. "I just am not buying into this journalistic apocalypse," he says. He thinks a lot of papers, including the one he edits, serve their communities well. Turning a critical eye on alt-weeklies, Wemple cites predictability as the root of "whatever malaise might exist" in the industry. "Alt-weeklies do descend from a certain tradition where it's no surprise that the editorial is slamming Bush or supporting Kerry or Nader," he says.