Feud Over Lack of Women Writers at L.A. Times Continues

Posted on March 8, 2005

In today's Washington Post, Howard Kurtz gives an update on the long-running feud between L.A. Times Op-ed Chief Michael Kinsley and writer and commentator Susan Estrich.

Susan Estrich says she's just trying to get more columns by women into the Los Angeles Times. Michael Kinsley, who runs the newspaper's opinion pages, agrees that's a worthy goal.
But the battle between the two longtime acquaintances has escalated to bitter warfare, with Estrich bombarding Kinsley with e-mails assailing him for "arrogance," "audacity," being a "jerk" and warning him before a charity event: "You want me to work that dinner about what an [expletive] you are?" Kinsley, in turn, accused Estrich of "blackmail."

Kurtz goes on to agree with the notion that most Op-ed pages are mostly female-free zones. "In the first two months of this year, about 19.5 percent of Op-ed pieces at the California paper were by women, 16.9 percent at the New York Times and 10.4 percent at The Washington Post," he writes. We don't think that's a good thing at all.