Monday, November 2, 2009

Sometimes I miss journalism.

My last newspaper job was at the Washington Post. I wrote for the Style section from 1990 through 1993. I had a ball there.

The hands-down best writer on Style was Henry Allen. Every piece he wrote was an event. In 2000, he won a Pulitzer Prize.

One day, during my first year at the paper, Henry Allen said to me: “You got chops.” The rest of that day I was walking on air, boy. Never will forget it. “Henry Allen said I’ve got chops!

Now comes this extraordinary gossip item from Harry Jaffe at Washingtonian magazine:

“Details are sketchy, but numerous witnesses report that veteran feature editor Henry Allen punched out feature writer Manuel Roig-Franzia on Friday. ...

“It should be noted that Allen is nearly seventy, but he served in the Marines in Vietnam.”

According to Harry Jaffe, the incident began when another Style editor assigned Roig-Franzia and Monica Hesse a story about political secrets inadvertently revealed. The reporters turned in their piece. “Allen took a look and didn’t like,” writes Jaffe. “He started ranting about the number of mistakes he had found. ...

“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.”

Supposedly, Manuel Roig- Franzia told him, “Oh, Henry, don’t be such a cocksucker.”

Then... “Allen lunged at Roig-Franzia, threw him to the newsroom floor, and started throwing punches. Roig-Franzia tried to fend him off. [Executive Editor Marcus] Brauchli and others pulled the two apart.”

Wow.

Damn-near everybody I knew at the Washington Post is now gone. They took buyouts as the Post went about shrinking its staff. I chatted with a Style reporter just last week who said there’s a weird vibe in the air.

I had no idea how weird. (I also had no idea that Henry Allen could draw. That sketch above is a self-portrait.)

UPDATE (11/02/09): Meanwhile, blogger Matt Dornic of FishbowlDC posted this afternoon: “[W]e regret to inform you that our sources have disclaimed [Harry Jaffe’s] account saying, ‘Jaffe’s story is full of hyperbole -- it was a single punch and no one was on the ground.’ ”

More to come, no doubt.

UPDATE (11/02/09): Erik Wemple of the Washington City Paper reports that Henry Allen has been banned from the Washington Post newsroom. According to Wemple:

“That sanction is not as harsh as it sounds: Allen’s last day was to be Nov. 20. He is 68, had already accepted a buyout, ... and had already announced his retirement.

“Of his swing, Allen says, ‘The last time I threw a punch at anybody was in the spring of 1963 in Parris Island, S.C., in Marine Corps recruit training.’ ... Roig-Franzia hung up when called on this matter.”

14 comments:

Coquinegra said...

OMG! I would have given $10 to see that

'Drea said...

Cool self-portrait. I don't think that I've seen anything like it or, maybe, I just don't get out much.

I read (http://tinyurl.com/yl8eftc)
that Allen has three weeks left on his buyout contract.

Maybe he's wanted to punch a sophomoric writer for awhile now...

Invisible Woman said...

off topic, but u probably knew this anyway...

'The Wire' Becomes A Class At Harvard - http://bit.ly/3MscQ4

quirkychick said...

Cocksucker? Really? And then a fist fight? That's awesome! It's like a scene from an old movie - a good one.

On The Wire off topic topic I parked behind a car today that had a bumper sticker that said, "I wish I was watching The Wire." That's quite a reverberation.

maria said...

why was henry banned from the newsroom?

btw, henry took a buyout like 5 years ago and was probably on contract or had been hired back.

that said, henry never struck me (LOL) as someone who would have hit someone BUT he's not the only reporter who can't suffer fools gladly. as you know, many of those journalists are a rough, rude lot..i ought to know. however, at last now i know better.

i can't tell you how many times i have heard that henry was already gone....2/3 of those buyout folks come back, living on the buyout dole of $$ and better healthcare benefits for YEARS...mary hardar being one you probably do remember.

maria said...

henry's "first" buyout: 2004 to be exact.

http://www.wbng.org/post/bulletins/2004/040204.html

maybe there's something in the water at style...in 2005 a style columnist broke his keyboard in a fit of rage during a fight with his assistant.

Davis Rogan said...

Manuel Roig-Franzia, it's a quirky enough byline that I knew I recognized it from somewhere, and yup, dude wrote for the Times Picayune.

Undercover Black Man said...

^ Oh snap, Davis. And he had to go to D.C. to get mugged??

;^)

Undercover Black Man said...

btw, henry took a buyout like 5 years ago and was probably on contract...

Yeah, he was on contract, maria. I see Tom Shales is steady writing, and he took a buyout years ago as well. I wonder how the Post saves money on those contract deals?

maria said...

they get to show that FTEs are down, and then they show "non-recurring costs" as up, which don't get as much attention.

it's a shell game.

Omnibus said...

I miss newsrooms.

S.O.L. said...

I heard a story once about the Post newsroom. Back in the days before every newspaper reporter was doing radio and TV, one of the Post sports guys did a broadcast thing (not sure if it was TV or radio) but apparently John Feinstein groused about how it wasn't cool, that it was selling out or some shit. The reporter apparently said he did it for the money -- he had a young family and wasn't making much. Feinstein, who was already making money good coin writing sports books, allegedly walked into the newsroom and throw $1,500 in cash on the guy's desk and walked away. Apparently that was Feinstein's MO -- not many people liked him too much I hear. If the story is true and I've heard it from a couple of very reliable sources, that doesn't surprise me.

Undercover Black Man said...

^ I love a good newsroom story. Thanks for that one, Elizabeth. I'd never heard it.

Obie Joe Media said...

Wish I could say more in details, but Allen was completely in the right of his assessment of Roig-Franzia's reporting. Allen is not the loose cannon here. New writers forget the accuracy is just as impt. as the florid writing, and part of me appreciates Allen's "direct" reminder.

David, I had wondered if you were fortunate enough to receive one of Allen's many kindnesses. Good to hear Allen saw your talent. And as talented as he is, what was equally amazing was Henry's generosity toward new writers. I still have a postcard he wrote to me; just a modest compliment, yet I treasure it.