An SF Weekly insider tells Grub Street that Meredith Brody may have been a casualty of the Village Voice Media’s increased online presence. While Brody did contribute to the SFoodie blog, her signature pieces were the long-form reviews that often topped 1,000 words.
Village Voice Media’s critics are increasingly moving away from their traditional roles. In June, Jason Sheehan of Denver’s Westword dropped his anonymity, and just yesterday the Houston Press’s Robb Walsh did the same. “I was hired as a newspaper restaurant critic and feature writer. Today I am, first and foremost, a blogger,” Walsh writes. It may be that Brody either didn’t want to do that, or couldn’t. Brody declined a request by Grub Street for comment.
Whoever replaces her at the Weekly will still need to pen a review each week, but will also be expected to break news on the blog. As the SF Weekly embarks on what will likely be an exhaustive search for a new critic, Matthew Stafford will take over Brody’s weekly review. (Brody replaced Stafford as critic several years ago.)
Earlier: Meredith Brody Fired From SF Weekly [Grub Street SF]
