- Loose Lips
Loose Lips is a politics column published in the "
Washington City Paper ," a United States of America (U.S.) alternative weekly newspaper serving theWashington, D.C. , metropolitan area. It is billed as "The definitive guide to hometown politics in the nation's capital."History
In 1993, 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, theD.C. Council , and the city bureaucracy. In January 1999, Cummins retired; contributing editorErik 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, [Cotts, Cynthia. [http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-09-11/news/tumbling-dice/1 "At Witt's End"] . "The Village Voice".September 11 ,2001 . RetrievedSeptember 30 ,2008 .] and Elissa Silverman held the position from January 2002 until December 2004, when her employment with the newspaper was terminated. [http://www.thecommondenominator.com/012405_taking.html "Taking Note ... : Quieted Lips"] , "The Common Denominator",January 24 ,2005 , accessedAugust 29 ,2007 .] Former WAMU-FM reporter James Jones wrote the column from March2005 throughJune 21 ,2007 , [Woodlee, Yolanda; Nakamura, David. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062000776_pf.html "Loose Lips Jumps Ship"] . "The Washington Post".June 21 ,2008 . RetrievedSeptember 30 ,2008 .] when he posted his "last column" as "Loose Lips" and stated that a successor to him would be appointed soon.Jones, Jones. " [http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/columns/looselips/ "LL Goes Astray: Recounting a Column's Greatest Misses"] , "Washington City Paper ",June 20 ,2007 , accessedAugust 29 ,2007 .] Mike DeBonis, formerly "City Paper"'s senior editor, was named the sixth Loose Lips columnist in July 2007. His first column appeared that September.Austermuhle, Martin. " [http://dcist.com/2007/07/16/city_paper_choo.php "City Paper Chooses New Loose Lips Columnist"] , "DCist ",July 16 ,2007 , accessedAugust 31 ,2007 .]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. mayorMarion 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
External links
* [http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/columns/looselips/index.php "Loose Lips"] . Index page. Includes hyperlinks to previous columns in "Recent Loose Lips" and features last column posted by James Jones.
June 20 ,2007 . AccessedAugust 29 ,2007 .
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