The New York Times has removed Thomas Friedman and Maureen Dowd from their Sunday editions, relegating them to less visible days.
‘N.Y. Times’ Unveils Expanded Opinion Section (Editor and Publisher)
As promised, The New York Times unveiled its expanded Sunday Op-Ed section, a move set in motion at least partly by the decision to move the lengthy Frank Rich contributions back to this section, from Arts & Leisure.
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The paper has also shuffled columnists, with longtime Sunday favorites Maureen Dowd and Thomas L. Friedman exiting this space to other days. The regulars on Sunday, as announced today by Gail Collins, the editorial page editor, will be Rich, Nicholas Kristof, and David Brooks. The paper printed a box with the new schedule, which places Dowd on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with Friedman on Wednesdays and Fridays. John Tierney, who replaces William Safire, will appear on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The Sunday edition is, by far, the most read of any paper so this is a big deal.
Dowd has become unreadable, so getting her out of the Sunday edition is welcome news. Certainly, David Brooks is a huge upgrade. The rest of the changes are uninspiring, though. Friedman has become rather predictable but he still offers interesting insights on a regular basis. Rich and Kristoff are solid writers but it’s hard to recall and noteworthy pieces by either.
Kristoff’s Sunday debut, “Let Fathers Be Fathers,” is pedestrian at best. Rich’s “A Culture of Death, Not Life” is actually rather interesting, if a bit hyperbolic. Neither, though, is a Mark Steyn, Christopher Hitchens, or Michael Kinsley.
via Michelle Malkin
