Turns out other column-oriented changes are in the offing, including a possible move for star scribe Mike Littwin from his prime page two location to the lower-profile op-ed pages.
As you'll recall, Littwin, Bill Johnson and Tina Griego were all snapped up by the Post following the February 2009 closing of the Rocky Mountain News, where all three worked. Greene's departure means that all current metro columnists were once News scribes.
Columnists without a Rocky pedigree chosen by Post editor Greg Moore since his 2002 arrival in Denver haven't lasted long in the position. Indeed, David Harsanyi is the only one still doing something similar -- but for the past three years or so, Harsanyi's been assigned to, yes, the editorial pages.
Will Littwin, whose progressive mindset contrasts with Harsanyi's conservative/libertarian takes, soon share that space? Via e-mail, Moore notes that "the metro columnists will be in the metro section" in the future -- and, in fact, Johnson's offerings have appeared under the Denver & the West banner for quite some time. That presumably means the page two spot where the work of Littwin and Griego, among others, has been featured will be repurposed. Moore adds that "there are discussions with Littwin about moving to the op-ed page, where it is more customary to find the kind of column he writes."
True enough, Littwin frequently weighs in on national stories -- like, for instance, today's column about Congress' ongoing lame-duck session. And given the rightward slant of current op-ed opiners like Harsanyi, John Andrews and Vince Carroll (another Rocky refugee), he'd provide something akin to balance.
But Littwin also writes reported, on-the-scene columns (and even some extended features) about matters of local concern. Would he still be able to stretch out in this manner if his work headed to the editorial pages? And how does he feel about the prospect of moving from one of the Post's most eyeballed pages to a section deep in the paper, where he'll have less space per piece to share his views? Littwin doesn't say, deferring to Moore for comments about the potential shift -- one of many that appear on the horizon for Denver's paper of record.
More from our Media archive: "Q&A with Denver Post editor Greg Moore."
