There may be a new wrinkle to the staff shakeup at the Washington Times that we reported earlier: the announcement of the promotion of Jonathan Slevin to the posts of acting publisher and president of the Washington Times comes just one day after the paper admitted that Slevin himself selected the person who wrote the paper’s glowing book review of a book he coauthored, in violation of newspaper policy.
The book review is a year old — though the clarification just ran in the Sunday newspaper. And executive editor John Solomon — who may be leaving the newspaper along with three other top executives — hasn’t been seen at the newspaper since.
It’s not clear that any fallout from this book review had anything to do with the staff shakeup. But the timing does seem a little coincidental.
Solomon declined to comment when asked about this development by TPM. Slevin hasn’t returned calls seeking comment.
Slevin, formerly a vice president at the paper, is the new acting president and publisher at the Times. His book, “Clash of the Gods,” received a positively glowing review a year ago in the Times from Michael Scheuer, a former CIA official and author of “Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq.”
From the review:
“Clash of the Gods” should be read by all members of the next presidential administration. It truthfully details the hell for which America is bound because its leaders ignored George Washington’s above-noted advice and followed a politically expedient road that has put Americans and their economy in the thrall of several foreign countries and a flamboyantly traitorous domestic fifth column, each ready to manipulate and undermine the United States if it suits their interests.
Yesterday, the Times ran a clarification saying that the reviewer was recommended by the book’s authors — “a deviation from the Washington Times’ normal practice.”
Slevin addressed the newsroom this morning, essentially repeating what management had laid out in weekend press releases. He took no questions, leaving several staffers frustrated, according to multiple newsroom sources.
Late Update: This post has been revised since it was first published.
Late Late Update: Over at the Politico, Michael Calderone talks to Scheuer, who says the invitation to write the review “came out of the blue.”
