Queen Of N.Y. Tabloid Gossip Gets Ax

(AP)  The New York Post is dropping Liz Smith's column this week to save money, leaving the legendary gossip columnist without a newspaper home in the city for the first time in 33 years.

"I'm very sorry that that has come to an end, and that I wasn't valuable enough for them to keep me on," the 86-year-old Smith said Tuesday.

Smith said the daily newspaper declined to renew her $125,000 annual contract in a letter that said, "due to economic circumstances, they were the bearer of bad news and so forth."

Col Allan, the paper's editor-in-chief, said: "The Post is grateful to have been able to publish Liz Smith's legendary column for so many years. We wish her the very best for the future."

The Texas native writes a syndicated newspaper column that she said is carried by 70 papers around the country. She also publishes in Daily Variety and in Parade magazine, and is part owner of a Web site. Smith says she's also writing a novel and will never retire.

"I'm busy," she said. "I'm OK. I'm OK for a person who's been let go."

In New York, her column had appeared in Newsday until she left in a contract dispute in 2005. The Post had run her column six days a week, and cut it back to three days a year ago to cut costs, despite Smith's unsuccessful appeal to Rupert Murdoch.

Her last column in the Post will appear on Thursday. She's already written it.

"I just wrote the usual stuff," she said, "and then I said goodbye."

[ontheleft]

Maybe she can get a job as a Wal-Mart greeter.

[2catnight]

Sounds like she has enough to keep her busy and besides...there have been a lot of people let go in this country...she's no exception.

[Questionews]

Let's hope this becomes a trend. Tabloid trash is something we can do without....let the celebrities use the same formats the little people have to use if they want to be heard.
Posted by poeticaintit at 8:14 AM : Feb 25, 2009



I hope not!!
Where will I get new & updated stories on the Alien/Bigfoot hybrid breeding program?

[platteman]

send her to DC and she can become the second Helen Thomas. The reality is that she is way overpaid. 1 buck a year would be too much. I hope the post has more cartoons in the works. The last one was really funny.

[dagrandma]

Gee, did they keep their cartoonists?

[detta269]

Now if we could get rid of all print and TV tabloid and gossip columnist. Let's start with giving pink slips to the trashy TMZ people.

[renonv5]

Idle gossip is something everyone can do without.

[andie52]

Liz Smith brings grace, style and pizazz to the city of New York and her beloved Broadway. It is a sad day when this vibrant, caring woman who has done so much for the city of New York is set aside for a paltry $125,000 in savings to the Post. Liz has raised millions for so many charities; helped the careers of so many actors and actresses and other famed and infamous celebrities and celebrated the theaters and restaurants of the city of New York.

Her voice in the old style news will be missed, but we look forward to her in all the new media places including her new venture www.wowowow.com


http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-inside-job/2009/02/24/liz-smith-internet-maven-at-86.html

[joespr]

good riddance to bad rubbish