The Los Angeles Times is axing Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez and longtime columnist Robert Scheer as part of a major editorial page shake-up. The changes were announced on Thursday by the Times editorial page editor Andres Martinez, who assumed responsibility for the daily Op-Ed page and the Sunday Current section in September.
Strong political stances are said to have played a role in their dismissals. Scheer was a Times reporter for 17 years before starting his Op-Ed feature in 1993. Pulitzer Prize-winning Ramirez, who joined the Times in 1997, will leave the newspaper at the end of the year and will not be replaced.
Scheer thought the Times had grown tired of his liberal politics. He was quoted in the Times itself as saying, "I've been a punching bag for Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh for years and I think the paper finally collapsed," he said. He said he and Ramirez "both had strong opinions and [I think] the owners think they can improve circulation by making the paper bland and safer."
The Huffington Post quoted Scheer: "The publisher, Jeff Johnson, who has offered not a word of explanation to me, has privately told people that he hated every word that I wrote. I assume that mostly refers to my exposing the lies used by President Bush to justify the invasion of Iraq. Fortunately, 60 per cent of Americans now get the point but only after tens of thousands of Americans and Iraqis have been killed and maimed as the carnage spirals out of control. My only regret is that my pen was not sharper and my words tougher." Starting Wednesday, Scheer's column will be appearing on the Huffington Post.
Ramirez, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, told the Times: "I can't help but think it's also a philosophical parting of ways." He said he also believed his removal was partly due to budgetary concerns, as well as a desire to change the look of the editorial pages. Ramirez's departure leaves the Times without a permanent staff editorial cartoonist. His predecessor, Paul Conrad, won three Pulitzer Prizes, two of them at the Times. Copley News Service will continue to syndicate Ramirez's work to more than 400 newspapers while the cartoonist looks around to see if there's a new full-time job out there for him.
"The opinion pages are the newspaper's town square," glossed over Martinez. "Our readers expect us to publish all points of view and the broadest range of opinion � from those of our editorial board and columnists to those of our readers and Op-Ed contributors. And we intend to do exactly that."
As part of the revamping of the opinion pages, a number of regular columnists � Micheal McGough, David Gelertner and Robert Scheer � will no longer be appearing on the Op-Ed page.
Robert Scheer will continue writing his column until the end of the year. "Bob is a forceful writer of strong convictions and it has been a privilege for this newspaper to publish his column for the past 12 years," said Martinez.
As part of the changes, Martinez also announced that the Op-Ed page will rely more on commissioned artwork and illustrations that complement articles, as well as different types of standalone graphics. Traditional editorial cartoons from a variety of political perspectives will still appear, but a greater variety of art will make the page more vibrant and interesting. "As a result of this new direction," Ramirez too would be leaving the newspaper at the end of the year. "Michael is a gifted artist and a sharp political observer, and we appreciate his contributions to the page," said Martinez.
The revised lineup consists of new columnists and ones already running in the paper. They include longtime Times columnist Patt Morrison, LA Weekly writer Erin Aubry Kaplan, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review and Tribune Media Services, Jonathan Chait of the New Republic, Meghan Daum of National Public Radio, Gregory Rodriguez of the New America Foundation, Max Boot of the Council on Foreign Relations, University of Virginia Law School professor Rosa Brooks, Harvard University professor Niall Ferguson, and Hollywood columnist Joel Stein.
"I think we've put together a smart, original and provocative team of writers who reflect a variety of interesting and thoughtful perspectives on local, national and foreign affairs," said Times Op-Ed Page Editor Nicholas Goldberg. "A good column involves a relationship developed with readers over time, and I invite our readers to develop their relationship with these engaging minds in the weeks and months to come."
