Sad Days in Russia
Russia's crackdown on the free press (and assassination of its practitioners) under Vladimir Putin and his successor, Dimitry Medvedev, is well-known. Today, I learn of what, for me, is the death blow: The eXile, the brilliant, hilarious and often profane English-language tabloid, looks like it's done.
The eXile reached great heights around 2000, skewering pretty much everyone and starting Matt Taibbi's reporting career. It also did some great pranks.
Taibbi has gone on to write some brilliant stories for Rolling Stone, but my favorite of his is this one from his eXile days, when he went undercover to lay bricks in the tiny Russian town of Meleyuz.
It raises the question: Is my esteemed former employer, The Vladivostok News, next on the list?
Matt Taibbi is pure power. His review of Thomas Friedman's enduring shitpile of a book is the best review I have ever read (yeah, that's not saying much):
http://www.nypress.com/18/16/news&columns/taibbi.cfm
Posted by: Brandon | June 18, 2008 at 03:56 AM