Three the Hard Way

Several high-profile columnists leave the media scene in very different ways.

A A A Comments By Michael Roberts Thursday, May 16 2002

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The same was supposedly true of Green's next column, a sentimental journey slated for Mother's Day. As Moore puts it, "His editors wanted some changes in the level of reporting. And that evolved into some other discussions about general feelings the editors had about his columns and feelings he had about how he was being edited."

At this point, Moore was apprised of the situation. "I was certainly involved in some of the content questions about his column. They were going to talk to him more broadly about how often his column would appear and on which days, and after that, he decided it was best that we part." Moore insists Green "was not fired. He said, 'Maybe it's time for me to go do something else,' and I can understand that. He's been writing a column for a long time, and with the level of scrutiny, he may have just felt he doesn't want to go through that anymore."

Mark Andresen

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Singleton echoes Moore's account. He, too, was out of town at the time everything went down and says he was informed about Green's pronouncement after the fact. But, he notes, "There are numerous people who heard him resign. There's no ambiguity. He was asked to think about it for a while, and he said he didn't need to. So the one thing I know is he resigned."

How big a loss will Green's leave-taking be for the Post, especially given the oft-touted size of his readership? Singleton, long assumed to be Green's protector, is unsentimental: "I think his readership had declined as the quality of his columns had declined."

Moore adds that he didn't tell anyone to deal with the Green matter before he took over the Post. "There was no ultimatum that I wanted him out of there. I did not say, 'Get rid of Chuck,' or anything like that, and if I have an opportunity, I'll talk to him when I get there. I'd love to meet a guy who's been around for 34 years."

It's hard to know how eager Green would be for such a meeting: He didn't respond to Moore's comments. But considering the sentiments he shared with KHOW's Peter Boyles on May 12, which Boyles passed along to his listeners the next morning, such a get-together might not be too pleasant. After Green swore to Boyles that he hadn't resigned, he groused that after all the years he'd put in, he was dismissed without even receiving "cab fare."

What a way to go.