Loose Lips (column)

Loose Lips is a politics column published in the Washington City Paper, an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. It is billed as "The definitive guide to hometown politics in the nation's capital."

History

In 1983, when Ken Cummins started writing it, "Loose Lips" began as a political gossip column, encompassing both local and national politics. Over the next decade, the format eventually became entirely devoted to Washington, D.C., local politics, focusing on intrigue in the mayor's office, the D.C. Council, and the city bureaucracy.

In January 1999, Cummins retired; contributing editor Erik Wemple replaced him. In November 2000, Wemple left the post to become senior editor and was replaced by Jonetta Rose Barras, a longtime contributor to the paper. Barras resigned from the paper on August 13, 2001,[1] and Elissa Silverman held the position from January 2002 until December 2004, when her employment with the newspaper was terminated.[2] Former WAMU-FM reporter James Jones wrote the column from March 2005 through June 21, 2007,[3] when he posted his "last column" as "Loose Lips" and stated that a successor to him would be appointed soon.[4] Mike DeBonis, formerly City Paper's senior editor, was named the sixth Loose Lips columnist in July 2007. His first column appeared that September.[5] Mike DeBonis left the position to join The Washington Post.[6]

2010-present

In 2010, Alan Suderman became the seventh Loose Lips, after leaving a position as a Washington Examiner reporter.[7] In 2013, Suderman left to work for the Center for Public Integrity.[8]

The next Loose Lips, Will Sommer, was previously a City Desk writer for the Washington City Paper.[9] Veteran journalist and former Washington Times reporter Jeffrey Anderson wrote the column starting in 2016.[10] Andrew Giambrone took over the column in 2018 for a brief period.[11] A former reporter for the Pacific Northwest Inlander, Mitch Ryals, started writing for Loose Lips in October 2018.[12]

Conventions

"Loose Lips" is typically 1,200 to 2,000 words long.

The column is written in the third person; the columnist refers to himself or herself as "LL." From its inception until Barras wrote the column, then again until October 2003, the column was unsigned, lending the a column a gossipy, "hush-hush" feel. Since then, the writer of "Loose Lips" provides a byline.

Cummins coined the sobriquet "Mayor-for-Life" for former D.C. mayor Marion Barry. Until Barry returned to the D.C. Council in 2005, "LL" columns have almost always referred to him as "Mayor-for-Life Marion S. Barry Jr." Barry's third wife, Cora Masters Barry, received a similar treatment: "Cora Masters Lady MacBarry."

The first occurrence of the name of each person mentioned in the column appears in bold face.

Notes
  1. Cotts, Cynthia. "At Witt's End". The Village Voice. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  2. "Taking Note ... : Quieted Lips", The Common Denominator, January 24, 2005, accessed August 29, 2007.
  3. Woodlee, Yolanda; Nakamura, David. "Loose Lips Jumps Ship". The Washington Post. June 21, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  4. Jones, Jones. ""LL Goes Astray: Recounting a Column's Greatest Misses", Washington City Paper, June 20, 2007, accessed August 29, 2007.
  5. Austermuhle, Martin. ""City Paper Chooses New Loose Lips Columnist" Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, DCist, July 16, 2007, accessed August 31, 2007.
  6. announced
  7. Debonis, Mike (2 July 2010). "City Paper hires new Loose Lips columnist". Washington DC. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  8. "Center Invests in Finance, Money-in-Politics Coverage". Washington DC. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  9. Madden, Mike (30 May 2013). "Meet the New Loose Lips". Washington City Paper. Washington DC. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  10. Garrigan, Liz (6 December 2016). "Jeff Anderson Named New Loose Lips Reporter". Washington City Paper. Washington DC. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  11. @wcp (16 February 2018). "Meet your new Loose Lips writer, @AndrewGiambrone! Read his latest work at City Paper, starting with his recent art…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. "Mitch Ryals Named Loose Lips Reporter at City Paper". Washington City Paper. Washington DC. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  • "Loose Lips". Index page. Includes hyperlinks to previous columns in "Recent Loose Lips" and features last column posted by James Jones. June 20, 2007. Accessed August 29, 2007.
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