Wasserman makes his exit

And of course, my first thought was this: what will it mean for the thumbnails?

The resignation was first reported by LA Observed, who then say Wasserman’s last day as LATBR editor-in-chief is May 13. Meanwhile, Tod Goldberg shares  his thoughts on Mr. Wasserman:

About two weeks before the Festival of Books, Steve called me and

asked me out to lunch, which was something of a surprise since I’d

written a rather lengthy piece on what I thought was wrong with the

book review when the rumors first began circulating, and because, well,

it’s not every day that I come home from grocery shopping at Trader

Joe’s and have a message from Steve Wasserman on my voice mail. At any

rate, I was compelled by the invitation and we agreed to meet a few

days later to talk about books and about the book review and about

whatever people generally talk about on a first date — life, love,

mistakes, that sort of thing.

I didn’t know Steve before we went to lunch — I’d met him on a few

occasions, but never anything beyond a handshake — and I can’t say I know

him now necessarily, though I will say that we had a very enjoyable two

hour lunch at the Times and that for those two hours we talked, often

passionately, about what we both liked and disliked about the Book

Review and about what the future might portend for the Review. I told

him my opinion of different reviewers and reviews, queried him on

decisions he’d made and not made and left the conversation feeling like

being the editor of a book review was a job without much margin for

victory, or error. Steve took it on the chin from me for two hours and

gave it right back, which I respected, and in the end I felt like he

took some of my harshest criticisms to heart. I wouldn’t say we reached

an accord necessarily, but my sense was that he understood my voice

wasn’t singular, that I spoke to him as an author, a journalist and,

perhaps most importantly, a devoted and disappointed reader.

And I liked him. Really. He was funny and personable and

interesting. We even talked about his white suit. Really. I guess the

one thing that sticks out most in my mind about our lunch was that he

seemed invested in his work and that he’d come to a point where it had

become important to meet his detractors head on, if only to find out

information he might have preferred not to know. Of course, I write

fiction for a living, so maybe my impression of him is colored by what

I’d hope a character of his ilk might feel inside, and in that way I

suppose it’s all supposition on my part. Even still, when I asked him,

“So, are you leaving or not?” he smiled and said, “I’ll be here until

I’m not.” It was something of an existential response, but it also

turned out to be startling accurate.