Changes

I have decided to retire from the evening shift and am leaving Slate. I've been given a fellowship to study for the year at Columbia -- focusing on national security and human rights -- and then to study Arabic next summer and fall, which I'm planning to do in Cairo or perhaps Beirut. (And no, the fellowship doesn't come courtesy of the CIA...or Amnesty International.)

The upshot: Tonight I'm doing my last Today's Papers.

The other upshot: I'm about to go to the beach for a week. More on that tomorrow.

UPDATE:  Thank you all for your  kind words.  TP was hard work. The hours, well, sucked. Many a morning I woke up fuzzy-headed and cranky. But writing it has also been enormously fun and...meaningful.  The emails and comments only make it more so. So, thank you again.

Comments

[Paula]

So happy for your opportunity, but will miss your wit and insight. All the best to you....

[Robert]

Thanks for writing "Today's Papers" with such a clear, strong voice. Morning coffee won't be the same without you. And I admire your memory of stories past, which casts a helpful light on today's news. Enjoy Morning Heights. I recommend the V&T.

[Charlton Price]

I'm bereft.
You have been indispensable, both for reportage and for analysis, including queries to the media for unjustified spin and omissions.

NO ONE ELSE has been doing this with equivalent constancy and skill.

Thank you.
Chukran.
Mumtaz.
Best wishes for your future.
Hum doo lee lah.

[aj]

Darn we are going to miss you. After reading the news and then almost crying at our state of affairs, you put it into a laughable prespective. Calms me down! Good luck and may you find a damm good flack vest in your travels.

[Jonathan]

*sniff*

[terrance]

yikes comes to mind first. who will i trust to eye the news landscape? but then comes: thanks for what you've done for us and good luck. no doubt we'll be reading you again somewhere sometime down the road.

[Carmen Goodyear]

I was sorry to hear that you are leaving Today’s Papers. You are the best of the lot. Always getting to the meat of the news, never going on too long about anything, and, of course, having a sense of humor about our crazy world. Thanks for your work and good luck.

[John]

My favorite aspect of your coverage was the continued, unrelenting focus on *anonymous sources*. I think anonymice are the biggest threat to journalism today, and we find anonymous sources behind many recent journalism scandals. Until TP and Pressbox honed in on this issue, I did not see much coverage in the mainstream press. Now at least we're starting to see more explanations of why anonymity was granted, and the NYT hired an ombudsman, so things are changing, hopefully.

At one point, I think I wrote Jack Shafer and you and exclaimed, "Slate is *kicking ass* on this issue!"

I would also chime in heartily with the posters above. I could not say this better myself:

* I admire your memory of stories past [...]
* just a little bit of snark
* You are a person of disciplined passion.

-John

[Richard]

Snarky, some say, cheeky saith I, but whatever one calls it I'll miss it. Great job for all these years!

Good luck and enjoy—your work with TP was great.

[Ben Davis]

I can't believe you did this for as long as you did, although I enjoyed it. Good luck with your fellowship!

[Leana]

HOLY SH*T! Dude I've been reading your work for years. Today's papers won't be the same without your wonderful wit and incredible acumen. Good luck to you in your future endeavours beachside and otherwise =)

[Sigrid Peterson]

Thank you for your extraordinary contribution as chief writer for Today's Papers. I am sad that your extraordinary voice there is stilled. At the same time, I am glad to see you choose a path that continues to develop your extraordinary concern for the state of the world. Much success!

[Christine]

Eric,
You were by far one of the best TPers, and you will be sorely missed. Best of luck in your new opportunities!

[Nicole]

Oh no! I am such a fan. I begrudgingly wish you good luck.

[Erik]

This is terrible news. Best of luck.

[Jeff]

Best of luck Eric.

It's been a pleasure religously reading Today's Paper's through the years.

[hz]

Great, consistent, thoughtful work deserves the opportunity to breathe awhile - but oh, man! you will be missed.
Good luck and godspeed in your studies and travels; we will all muddle through, Umansky-less, in hopes of hearing your clarion critiques again, before long.

[Scott]

Eric,

All the best at Columbia and stay safe in Egypt (or Lebanon). Thanks for all the Today's Papers you wrote. They won't be the same without you.

[kmarko]

I'll add my best wishes to the lengthy list here. I've been a loyal reader of TP for longer than I remember...let's see how long has Slate been around? Anyway, your cogent and succint summary of the news is the best thing about Slate. I hope your replacements eventually manage to approach your level of professionalism.

Good luck in your new adventures.

[Darren Thorneycroft]

Just wanted to say I originally got hooked by Scott Shuger's level-headed and incisive daily reporting, which you carried on with distinction. Best of luck in your life's journey and watch those unnecessary hyphens! ;-)

[Hitesh Brahmbhatt]

Good Luck. It was pleasure to read your writing.

Hitesh

[Kevin]

TP is the only mass-delivered email I subscribe to. I enjoyed reading it and you save the whole community time. Thanks for making it worthwhile. Summarize Lebanese papers for us?

[paul]

Though many others have said it more eloquently, I've enjoyed your column for a long time. Thank you, and best of luck at Colombia.

[Sam]

Today's Papers is what made me a Slate junkie/loyalist/obsessive. It has been the most consistent feature of the site and you are the man responsible. Congratulations, good work, and good luck! Keep the blog going strong.