Wemple Speaks

Washington City Paper Village Voice Washington City Paper Editor Erik Wemple fielded some questions from FishbowlDC regarding his recent move to and fro the Village Voice:

FishbowlDC: How much of your decision to leave the Village Voice was personal vs. professional?

Wemple: The reason I didn’t make it up there was that the Village Voice Media people and I couldn’t come to terms over managing the newsroom.

FishbowlDC: Did the fact that many in Washington mourned your decision to leave DC play a role in your staying here?

Wemple: This is a really good question, in part because it’s a clever way of rephrasing your first one. It was so nice that a lot of friends and acquaintances said sweet things when I announced leaving for the Voice. My wife and I love these people dearly. But they seemed excited about the opportunity and were kind of cheering us on. So in that sense, they weren’t tugging us to stay put.

FishbowlDC: How do you think it will be received at WCP (i.e. the fact that you left and then came back)?

Wemple: Honestly, this is a question better put to my staffers, who are free to say whatever they’d like about the situation. There are clearly legitimate questions about whether my head is in the game at this stage, given what happened with my supposed departure. I figure that the only way to answer them is to put my head down and edit and do journalism, each day, all day long.

(editor’s note: Proof of Wemple’s worth to the City Paper can be found in the fact that you’ll be hard pressed–and trust us, we’ve tried–to find a CityPaper employee who’s not pleased to have Wemple back in the saddle. Those who think otherwise, feel free to email us)

FishbowlDC: Did you learn anything that you might implement at the Washington City Paper to make the paper better?

Wemple: Nah, not really. The job of making the City Paper better is an ongoing one, and quite a worthy one, too. My editors and staffers have ideas about going forward here at City Paper and making an ever-evolving product. We’re on it.

FishbowlDC: A year from now, what would you have liked to accomplished at the WCP?

Wemple: A Pulitzer, obviously. More investigative stuff. Revival of our arts-biz column, which will happen on June 30. We have a new columnist there–Nell Boeschenstein. She’s a hotshot.

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