"Every gymnast I've ever met twitches like crazy when they sleep," said U.S. gymnast David Durante. "If you're ever by a gymnast while they're sleeping, check it out. They're always reaching for something when they sleep."

Maybe, I will check it out one day... Maybe, I will.

Completely off topic, but where's the solidarity with KSK's Christmas Ape? This is America right? You know what happened. Was this Kornheiser? America deserves the truth!

Dooceing the ape not good.

You guys unfairly fired one of the funniest, most creative writers on the internet just because he likes to have a little fun on weekends and write about it in his blog. Its no dirty secret that journalists occasionally spend some time in bars. Haven't you read The Quiet American?

Enjoy yourself Washington Post, Enjoy your death throes

Yeah Im through with the washington post for the unfair firing of Ape.

Wow, nice job, Post. Pissing off the blogosphere is hardly the best way to get positive PR.

It's cool, though ... it's not like KSK is one of the most read sports blogs in the world ... or part of a network with thousands of readers who will be enraged by this news ...

Oh, wait! It doesn't matter. Young people don't read the newspaper anyway. That's why your industry is circling the drain.

Get bent.
-MBP

Someone exercises their creativity outside of work and you fire him for it?

yeeeeesh.

Boooooooooooo

Firing a guy that likes to write. Go figure.

No smirre for s-canning the ape. Go Steelers

Firing the Ape was surely the final bell toll for your pathetic dying "media."

So are you going to write about Ape getting hosed by WP?

I never read your crappy newspaper to begin with but I did today, specifically so I could say I quit reading after the unfortunate, untimely and idiotic dispatching of Ape. GFY, WaPo, GFY.

Fire Ape? You are ALL fired.

Seriously, you people suck. On the other hand, I get to read more Ape!

ditto what everyone else said.

Utterly pathetic - Dooceing Ape further advances the Post's irrelevancy...

You all suck ... KSK is at least entertaining!!

Keep clinging to your dying medium. In a couple of weeks, Ape alone will triple your site traffic and earnings.

Firing Ape was absolutely unethical and basically pathetic.

Booooo, Washington Post. I will no longer read your paper online for free.

Having a hard time comprehending why you guys fired Ape.

Did you fire the guy that reads KSK and discovered his secret identity? Was this guy maybe reading KSK at work. Oh wait, you guys fire people for what they do on their own time.

bring back tunison!

WaPo ------> DO NOT WANT

I'm with everybody else --- Firing Ape was horsepuck.

You fired a writer for writing?! Seriously!?!!?!

Rupert Murdoch is actually impressed by how draconian this firing is... just pathetic.

WaPo sucks. I'll be moving to DC in a few months, and WILL NOT be subscribing to your glorified toilet paper. Enjoy your dying medium!

this is my first and last time at this website

Did the Post's security goons also slap a couple of homeless orphans on their way back from escorting Ape to the unemployment office? Because that's always cool.

Keep up the good work in the grand corporate tradition of Monty Burns, Gordon Gekko and Willam Randolph Hearst.

Yeah, a Times man now.

No wait, I didn't mean that!

FREE THE APE!

How embarrassing. I hope there are no pictures, anywhere, of anyone else on your staff having any fun whatsoever. Because we all know that no one must put himself above the party... er, company line.

/Chairman Mao
//WaPo is full of hypocrites

WaPo: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to go

morons

Don't you think, just maybe, Mr. Ape was tired of writing nonsensical fluff pieces for WaPo and... (gasp!) did this on purpose?

ahh, forget it

OUTRAGE!
BLASPHEMY!

Dear WaPo,

I hate your face. Free the Ape.

Sincerely,
Pagoda

Stuffy old people can't adjust to the realities of the internet age. Innovate or Die.

WaPo has an incredibly succesful Sports Bog, DC's own Bill Simmons, and even they still don't understand.

Christmas Ape is an internet celebrity. He could have brought much-needed traffic and click-throughs to WaPo.

Instead of leveraging his fame, WaPo punted him. Goodbye, tens of thousands of people who love his writing. We don't want your money. We'd rather keep putting our best writers out to pasture through buy-outs and pretending that we're riding the new media kiteboard. They're about as connected as Poochie.

I wonder which paper will be smart enough to go Ape.

Alex

Seriously morons? You really need to get a clue. Like everyone else has said I will be glad to read about your lousy paper in the obits.

Couldn't agree more with the posters above. This whole stupid feud established media has with bloggers shows me how hypocritical most people are. I mean we're taught all this crap about free expression and how the media is a beacon of free speech..etc...Only to have traditional journalists who claim to embrace these concepts in their minds railroad one of their own for adapting to a new (not so new now, but whatever) form of expression in his own personal life. Blogging is nothing new. Its 21st century handbills, basically. And, on top of that, this guy is a better writer than most of the columnists on your staff. WaPo, you guys should apologize to the Ape.

Tunison axed for making jokes on his own private website, and you've got nothing to say about it?! Not visiting this site ever again.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether KSK broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our male party guests (Vick, Wade & Jerry, Marmalard, Hines, Mr. Home Depot Man) - we did.

But you can't hold a whole blog responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole blogosphere? And if the whole blogosphere is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our media institutions in general? I put it to you, WaPo - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!

[Leads the KSK Gay Mafia out of the hearing, all humming the Queens of the Stone Age]

Tunison forever.

That is all.

Double-J does not approve of firing the Ape. Somebody's got a job at Valley Ranch now.

Oh and WaPo sucks big time.

Wait...the bloggers that journalists excoriate are actually secretly working for newspapers...so that means he actually has the training and 'professional insight' needed to comment on sports issues?

And we still get Marmalard?

Cool.

Nice going WaPo.

The MYFO crew raises their sticks in tribute to Ape.

Great job on the firing. Seems about right. You at Washington Post really screwed up again.

After the firing of the Ape, I wish you luck in finding a new journalist that has the ability to write at a fifth grade level.

Ape easily wrote at the sixth grade level.

Hey, looks like the Post is getting a ton of traffic and commen...oh wait, congrats Morons. And I apologize to Steinberg who has had his blog turned into a protest...wait, is Steinberg gonna get fired for blogging? Hmmmm.

More Marmalard Please.

I applaud the decision made by the Washington Post in regard to this "Christmas Ape" fellow. He was spending too much time in his mother's basement holding down the couch springs, while I lounge in my condo in Florida and make ballplayer money for 2 columns a week filled with no intelligent thought and no originality. Basically, I just keep getting fatter and older.

In all seriousness, the WaPo is a complete joke.

I would have actually read your paper once I found out that Ape worked for it (just for his articles though, much better sources for news out there)...guess its a moot point now.

Guys, leave Steinz alone. He didn't do anything wrong. If you want to protest Ape's release, email the WaPo ombudswoman.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/deborah+howell/

And, if you do, don't swear or anything. It makes you all that easier to dismiss.

I hope this turns into Steinberg's most commented article.

Firing an internet celebrity is bad for business, dontchya know.

Really? Christmas Ape brought shame to your bastion of "professional" free speech for what he did on his own time? And the loyal readers he had are better kicked to the curb with him than used to bolster your dying medium? REALLY!?

Maybe I'm just not business-savvy or don't have a mind for journalism in the 21st century (I knew I wasted my money on that MBA and J-School) as the great minds at the WaPo, but...hmmmmmm...nevermind...

You're idiots. I'm going back to getting my news from interesting, thoughtful and reputable sources that don't regurgitate the hackneyed crap you guys put out.

Viva La Ape!

Perfect example of poor decisions by this dying breed of media, enjoy your slow painful demise.

FAIL

Bring back ape!

Unfire! Unfire! Unfire!

Bloggers hate when they're called "basement-dwelling" idiots, yet all they can say about journalists is that they're dinosaurs and in a dying media. That's original. Yes, the firing is ridiculous. But, what would bloggers have to complain about if there were no newspapers?

Christmas Ape Graduates!

I will never read the Washington Post again. Just having him on staff elevated the level of intelligence on staff. Needless to say, management doesn't have a whole lot.

Outstanding work WaPo clowns...fire someone for exercising freedom of speech on their own time. It's great to see the fourth estate holding up their end of the First Amendment.

It's like you're actively trying to find ways to increase your irrelevancy. And succeeding brilliantly I might add!

I hate you even more now, WaPo!

Also, who will now inform me of El Pollo Rico's fires and immigration issues? I need to know!!!

This is the first, and now last time I read WaPo online. Sorry Steinz, but this was uncool.

What a bunch of dumbasses. You're company is a dying medium, who's only use is to octogenarians that can't use a computer. So what do you do? Fire the young guy that has a pull with the youth. I didn't go to business school for four year to see that one dumbass move.

Wait til' Buffett finds out!!!

Get bent, Steinberg

FREE THE APE!

What was the decision making process like during the ape firing meeting? Well loved writer - can him. Next time any Wapo employee drinks on a Sunday I hope they find a pink slip in the bottom of the glass.

I used to take your paper to the bar with me, now I will never read it again. Now, I wouldn't use your paper to shoo a homeless person away. You can keep your subscription!

Free the Ape!!

Ah, the Washington Post. From the heady days of Woodward and Bernstein to the inane decision of firing a wildly popular blogger because his behavior was out of touch with the image of this bastion of all that is right with the world...if the world was perpetually stuck in 1958.

Why is it a problem that Ape got one of the feathers of the Pittsburgh Pirate Parrot stuck in his throat after a night of drinking Iron City Beer? Who cares that he got caught doing the Rusty Trombone with Steely McBeam? He's just expressing himself, WaPo.

The sands of your relevancy are slipping out faster and faster each day, WaPo. Do the honorable thing and go out to the field with the shotgun. It will be the best thing for all of us.

Wait a minute...a blogger was working at the Washington Post...bloggers only type in basements of their parents houses in pajamas...you're telling me the Washington Post is in my parent's basement? In Ohio?

This is incredibly confusing.

(Actually, it is totally not confusing. It is comical the way newspapers are flailing around and continually shooting themselves in their collective foot. Keep up the stellar work!)

APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE! APE!

Whatever.
If this is the level of discourse that the "Ape" inspires, who cares?

Seems like a healthy of the people here are boosting the hit/comment count just to announce that they never read the Post and never will. Doesn't seem too savvy. Or tragic.

All of us loyal Christmas Ape readers who weren't privy to his identity find out he writes for the WaPo. Maybe we will turn to the WaPo and read some Ape's articles, thus creating a gateway to some of the other articles in the paper we wouldn't read otherwise. This may create a whole new following of younger readers who may become loyal to the paper.

Nah.

Does not compute.

Fire Christmas Ape, will you? Never again will I scroll through your paper's website on my blackberry while on the crapper. So there.

Besides, I liked the dream post.
I'd like to have a limitless supply of boats.
And I wonder if there's a correlation between "winning dreams" and actual winning or between "losing dreams" and actual losing...

What do we want?!

SUNGLASS HUT!

When do we want it?!

NOW!

KSK > Washington Post

Seriously

You fired someone for being successful?

After firing christmas ape for basically nothing I vow to never log on to view your website for free again.

I'm gonna be honest, my only experiences with the WaPo stem from Ape's getting canned and watching/reading about The Wire. If Simon's version of the post isn't to be believed, then why'd this happen?

In a world where information is increasingly accessible, aren't you worried about what might happen if someone were to find pictures of other WaPo writers in compromising situations? Wouldn't it be just awful if more pictures of your employees surfaced in situations that detracted from the pristine image of your oh-so-righteous paper? No, it's not possible that would happen. There's NO WAY that could happen. No, you've got nothing to worry about, you're totally fine.

Good day, sirs.

Man, the bloggers are out in full force -- Tryst must be packed today.

This guy's an idiot. Who cares that he was fired? If you're going to bash your employer in a stupid drunk blog post, you can't complain when they get pissed.

Post:

Thank you for firing Tunison. He can now spend his time writing things people really want to read instead of the 'dog falls in a hole' type material you were wasting his talent on.

I look forward ro reading his work on another forum.

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?

[Door swings open]

......

WashPo make Ape no smiree

WaPo sucks and this firing demonstrates its inability to know when having a good time with a parrot mascot is OK outside of the work environment. No wonder you lose revenue every year.

Dave = one with the Ape.

wait, what happened to el pollo rico?!? I need to know ASAP!

Seriously? Did the executive who made the final decision at least read a sampling of Ape's posts? He's witty and hilarious; a better business decision would have been exploiting his talent.

Oh, and you suck.

Ape is grape, in great

the ape shall return bigger than evah

Who's this Ape person you all keep talking about? Let's get back to talking about Steinberg's post on the Olympics, shall we?

Washington Post = No Fun League for news reporters.

I majored in journalism in school, but in the year or so since I graduated, I have realized that I have no desire whatsoever to write for a newspaper. If anything, I'd kill to be a successful, respected blogger.

Way to kill off one of your only talented people, WaPo. Enjoy your death throes.

Rong Rive KSK, Rong Rive APE!

Bring back Tunison and Artie Lange!

Vince McMahon will come up with a good angle out of all of this.

I wholeheartedly concur with the sentiments espoused thus far. Firing Mr. Tunison was a shameful act. If anything, he deserved a promotion. Give him a sports column! He's much more fresh, talented and original than Kornheiser.

And in response to Amused' comments above: The difference between what journalists say about bloggers and what bloggers say about journalists is that what bloggers say is true. Newspapers ARE a dying medium.

WaPo is drowning in their own failure. LONG LIVE APE!

man, I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue

Dan,
I hope you'll forward our stinging rebukes regarding 'Christmas Ape' to the appropriate editor.

Shame on your paper.

If you're going to fire a guy, at least give him the contact info of your former employers at the cheese section of Whole Foods so the fella can land on his feet.

I agree with 1980 David Bowie! Ape > a tired newspaper that lives off of useless industry awards and stories done 30 years ago.

This is awesome. Way to shine more spotlights on bloggers you beautiful flaming ball of fire of a medium!

Yay self-destruction!

Dudebra, firing Ape was soooooo bogus. Who's up for some Jagerbombs?!

China's government is horrible. I myself will be ignoring any story coming out about the Olympics, unless it is one of the many stories that will be coming out about journalists being denied their right to report the horrendous human rights abuses leveled against the Chinese citizens. I would be just as happy if no US athletes went so why should I care if they place. Unless they use their spot on the podium to express themselves than they don't deserve my interest.

Now as for KSK, yeah the Washington Post is just illustrating once again why Newspapers are losing readership. So continue being mismanaged like a typewriter repairman fixing a computer. BTW I am a profootballtalk.com guy but thanks to the post I now have an interest in KSK. So good work Post! I now have another place to go on the net daily other than your site.

I heartily agree with the Post's action on this.

Boo bloggers!
Hooray traditional media!

Very truly yours,
The Schrutebag

If you are going to fire the ape, Ya betta ask somebodddddaaaaayyyyy!

When is the Kornheiser buyout coming?

This aggresion against the Ape will not stand, man.

you betta ask somebodaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!

gayest.firing.ever.

A pox on your house, WaPo!

Long live the Ape!

I find this whole ordeal very unsettling. You murdered an Ape! Wait 'til PETA finds out!

BOOOOOOO!!!!!

Dear Post:

You had one of the most popular sports bloggers out there today on your payroll, and you fired him for being drunk once two years ago and using profanity? Do you really expect anyone to believe that no one else at WaPo has been "guilty" of any of those things in the past? This is complete BS.

Once again you guys show why your The Times Jr.

As the first baby born in the Washington area this year, I am appalled at the actions of the WaPo bosses. Michael Tunison was nothing but gentlemanly and professional when he covered my birth back in January. Needless to say, his article is framed and on the wall above my crib.

Now if you excuse me, I have just poopied in my diaper. I shall commence crying until my mother or father comes to change it.

GOOD DAY, SIRS.

way to fire one of the most creative writters in the industry.

maybe this is why the newspapers are all circling the drain.

Thanks for reminding everyone the only thing newsprint is good for. Ass wiping and fireplace tender.

So what if the Ape gave the Parrot a Dirty Sanchez last weekend. Firing him for it was lame.

Is the Post serious? What a joke. I'd wipe my butt with it but the ink would come off on my ass. Long live NPR and KSK.

Way to lose readers idiots.

Free the Ape.

I have not been this disappointed since my favorite Peruvian-style chicken eatery burned to the ground in February.

¡VIVA EL POLLO RICO! ¡VIVA EL CHRISTMAS APE!

The Washington Post would like it to be understood that Mr. Tunison was not doubleplusgood bellyfeel to The Washington Post's/Big Brother's party line. Mr. Tunison was a crimethinker who was ownlifewise. The news of his firing was malreported. He has been sent to Room 101 for reclamation.

Huh. I notice that WaPo hasn't shut down their comments boards; guess they get minor credit for that, assuming they know that they have a comments section on their website. KSK > WaPo > ESPN.

Like you guys had a reputable paper to begin with. Fire or buy out your popular writers. Why bother trying to be successful. It's too much work.

Dan, I just hope you don't think any of this is directed at you. Honestly, I think you should get a kick out of it.

With that said, your paper has done a bad thing. And for that, I send you this simple reminder:

http://gawker.com/341807/the-simpsons-announces-the-death-of-print

It's funny because it's true.

Oh, he RESIGNED now. Give us some respect, WaPo. All bloggers and their readers may live in their parents' basements on a diet of KFC Famous Bowls, but we're not idiots, and we don't make transparently false statements while doing stupid things. One of your journalists revealed to the world he had a personality. And, dear God, he's one of those journalists who drinks! How frightful. Throw him from the (sinking) ship!

Thanks for firing Ape!

Shame on you.

Follow Ape! Follow Ape to freedom! Follow Ape to the masthead of Sports Illustrated if they have any sense at all.

Alas, probably not. No smiree.

Um...

Don't writers at big time newspapers need to clear outside projects with their bosses? I agree with a post above. Smells to me like Mr. Ape did the self-outing with the almost CERTAIN knowledge he'd get fired.

But you guys carry-on with the pity party.

Instead of strategizing an intelligent reaction to Tunison's outing, WaPo jerks its proverbial knee and fires the man. Tunison could have single-handedly driven ad revenue for your site for at least a couple of years had WaPo featured him instead of firing him. I thought big business was smarter/greedier than this. When you have a cash cow, you give him his own trough; not put him out to pasture. Now he is free to embarrass the snot out of the publication (which I never read before today and never will again unless they bring back one of the more creative and entertaining writers they had).

Your paper sucks!

Wow is about all I can say. Shame on you all.

WaPo--You don't want the Ape...send him to Delmarva...we love interesting people who can write!

He Gone!

The firing of Michael Tunison was a disgusting act, and I'm sorry you had to see that live.

nice of the washington post to act like Nixon. who do you have as decision makers the old lady bag? this ain't 1972 idiots.

BRING BACK THE APE

Are you kidding me? The Parrot has been drug free since the '80's.

Oh yeah, bad move getting rid of the Ape.

At least we all used to support your paper because of Ape...now we can outright wage an all out Internet Guerrilla(read:Ape) Terror Campaign. Enjoy some stunningly awful PR.

What is it about bloggers that scares you newspaper guys so much? Well whatever reason, I don't care. You are all a bunch of ass-hats. I would decry just the Washington Post, if I didn't think every major paper would do the same. Pathetic.

This is shameless. The Washington Post should be disgusted with their behavior in this regard. If he had mentioned the Post on KSK, then there would be a case, but you discriminate against a journalist for writing on a blog is an absolutely travesty. The established print media is a dying form and this unwillingness to support an open forum for writing on the internet is a primary reason why.

Ok, I don't understand. If anything, newspapers should be embracing new and creative writers instead of throwing them on the street. Look, the Post is stuffy, yes you won 6 Pulitzers, but who cares, 6 Pulitzers will not save the paper industry from the death course it's already on.

Get on the phone Dan.

Sports blogger fired for drinking, SPORTS BLOGGER, what about that word ever ever ever represented the high and lofty sentiment of the Post. FIRE STIENBERG, I'm sure Dan has had a drink on a Saturday while dishing up some sports brew ha..seriously, Post, get over yourself...After all, Mike isn't Judith Miller or something..

Dan Froomkin is the only thing left you have going for you. I expect he'll be out the door in short order.

Shame on thee, Washington Post, for thou's highnosedness and flapdappery with respect to the good Mister Tunison. For shame! Thou handeth out thy wrath like a drunken mage, failing to realize the boorish behavior long lauded by respectable news men. What say ye regarding the good Mister Kornheiser's antics whilst in the employ of your publication? What say ye?!?

I say again: For shame!

...So, nobody else likes gymnasts, I take it?

*looks around, wondering why KSK commenters have invaded this Bog entry*

Pro Wrestlers suck? Seattle is a horrible football town? Cavs fans are uncreative? Umm...

Hey, Look! Nick Rimando! *grabs water gun*

Dan, just so you know, I'm totally hammered while typing this sentence.

I guess I can switch to the Washington Times, ughhh the thought...yeesh

Until now, I've always thought the Post was the best newspaper in the country. The hypocrisy of infringing on someone's freedom of expression is mind boggling. Shame.

If you are not fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.

You damn, dirty ape!

A poem for the Washington Post:

Why hast thou forsaken thine self
Tis not thee fate of thy self nor hast it remain
for thee Ape shall return in form yet unseen
vengeance and fury shall return to thee in shapes unknown

Number of comments left on the last ten Sports Bog posts:

2
6
7
7
24*BIG DAY*
1
9
2
9
150+

Your move, WaPo!

Bring back the Ape!

Oh, and you don't even need prior approval to leave comments here.

Just sayin'

Wow, firing a talented, funny and creative writer like Tunison for using his freedom of speech on the internet??? Bravo, WaPo...way to uphold the 1st Ammendment that allows you to print boring and restricted so-called journalism!

Down with the Post, up with Ape!

Uh... yes and hello... I very sorry to bother but can you tell me where the bathroom is ... uh huh... ok, so just click on the Washington Post homepage link... thank you, thank you very much!

WHAT KIND OF A MESSAGE IS THE WASHINGTON POST SENDING TO READERS WHO LIKE TO GET FUP UCKED? This is disgusting, Washington Post, absolutely disgusted. You ought to be ashamed.

In retaliation I'm going to get drunk and not enjoy your newspaper.

Christmas Ape, we hardly knew ye. Where else will I get my finely crafted Maryland Metro News Blurbs now, WAPO??! NOT FROM YOU, THAT'S FOR SURE!

APE APE APE APE APE APE APE!

(Don't punch me in the stomach)

Ya'll suck. Way to piss off the most desired demographic

Good move, WaPo. Enjoy the last few years of living.

Well, at least Christmas Ape has time to go to summer camp now.

My pity for Dan is overshadowed by my disgust for the post. Mike was a journalist, not a politician. It is okay to drink when at party when your team wins the big game.

Way to go WaPo.
/starts slow clap

Pure irony that one of your web editors came to one of my final classes as an undergraduate student to lecture on the merits of Web 2.0 (and tacitly put a nail in the coffin of old print journalism). Unfortunately, your utter disregard for a man who's journalistic abilities puts him instantly amongst the elites on some of the most populous and well trafficked sports communities there is is absolutely appalling and inexcusable. Should Steinberg be watching his back for that one time he had a beer somewhere with Mottram? I'll never pay a dime for the ill-fit-for-fishwrap waste of trees that is the Washington Post again nor will I under any circumstance so much as one overing your online incarnation. This is the end times for traditional media; may your entire operation collapse on itself like a dying star.

I am extremely disappointed in your speciesist butchery of an extremely talented higher primate, who just happened to 1) love the holiday season, and 2) sample the sauce on said public holidays as well as at larger sporting events. Why you would extirpate a monkey who can not just type, but type oh so well, is beyond me. You have other such better in the wings? So what, you received a glimpse of this gentle giant in his native and noble habitat? So what, I ask you. So you feel threatened by a sentience that you cannot understand and that is different and possibly more advanced in certain ways, and you throttle it: I implore you to glance again at a photo of the gnarled forehead of this noble beast and think about the Ich und Du between one and another.

Christmas Ape! Huzzah!

cc: Deborah Howell

The canning of CA was inappropriate and a bad judgement call. Nice work there, Lou.

I will be following his journalism wherever his talented writing takes him.

I will not be reading the Post.

Firing one of the few talented people left in the dying cesspool that is your newspaper probably wasn't a very good idea.

I hope you'll condemn this firing, Dan.

Some douche said:

Whatever.
If this is the level of discourse that the "Ape" inspires, who cares?

Seems like a healthy of the people here are boosting the hit/comment count just to announce that they never read the Post and never will. Doesn't seem too savvy. Or tragic.

Posted by: SSFSCoWA | April 17, 2008 12:46 PM

First, get a sense of humor. Then, find someone who cares what you think.

Such a bad idea by the WaPo.

They just lost another subscription. I'll get my paper the way Jimmy McNulty does.

I'll repost what BDD said. Write the ombudsman. Christmas Ape wrote better than half the writers at the post (but I'll confess, I like Tony). http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/deborah+howell/

WaPo: absolutely disgraceful. Love you Steinz but your boss (wo)man totally dropped the ball on this one. In showing Mike the door, you just lost one of your most talented writers. And for what?

Writing? Hitting the bar?

Gimme a break. Just speeding the inevitable with the dying medium.

Should have been you Deborah Howell...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003790987

A sad day for your increasingly irrelevant newspaper. Dick Cheney was drunk* when he shot his pal Harry. No wonder SS agents told local law enforcement to "come back tomorrow" when they tried to talk to the veep. Shouldn't WAPO be demanding his removal? Ape didn't put anyone in the hospital.

*28 ga. bird shot from 90' does not penetrate clothing, chest wall and lodge in heart muscle.

Who thought it was a good idea to fire someone for having a life outside of the Newspaper? The print journalism industry just keeps getting it wrong. Just die already.

This paper has lost all credibility. I'll never read it again. Bring back the APE

Oh for the love of god are you Ape-heads done yet?!? We get it - you think this sucked, and you never read the Post and won't in the future (so, uh, why should anyone at the Post give a crap what you think?) and this shows the decline of traditional media and the rise of blogs. Fine, whatever, it's an unoriginal thought and the fact that 170 of you have mindlessly repeated it just shows that you're aping what somebody else told you to write.

I call shenanigans!

You people suck.

Viva La Ape!

Getoveryourselves denies the hivemind! The mob shall rule, and those who disagree shall fall! BURN THE WITCH!!

Long live the Ape

Did the WaPo ever consider talking to Tunison (Ape), and seeing if there was a way you could use his internet cred and obvious talent for connecting with sports fans to use for the paper/website?

You have missed a golden opportunity to add a good, young sports writer who comes with a sizable audience already in-tow.

Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb!

I used to have respect for your newspaper until you fired one of the most creative and inspired bloggers of our time, Michael Tunison. This is a completely ridiculous over-reaction if I ever saw one.

If only the Post had this same standard in 1972, Bernstein would've had his butt fired for running up thousands of dollars in gambling debts and abandoning rental calls in the state capitol and we never would've been rid of Nixon....

You idiots cannot see the forest from the trees. Good riddance.

fire kornholer

Looks like they really got their apetit in a wringer.

-Richard M. Nixon

Sweet move holding back one of your most talented writers and then firing him when it turns out THAT HE IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SPORTS BLOGGERS IN THE COUNTRY. Use your heads people.

LONG LIVE THE APE!

Man, print journalism keeps digging its own grave and then stands there wondering how it got in the hole. Smooth move.

I used to line my Birdcage with your paper.
But now, I'm not sure the WaPo even deserves that.
Absolutely classless move by a news source I used to trust.
Disgusting.

Mark Twain would not approve (nor would he be writing for the WP I guess).

Post editor Len Downie says "we have standards" for staffers' outside work, plus Ape was supposed to get his bosses' prior approval before working as blogger. Here's link:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003790987

WaPo sucks!! Ape will be better off

@skinsfan

that offense doesn't seem to merit the outright firing of a talented staff member... other forms of reprimand can be worked out, believe me.

No one on here said what the WaPo did was illegal, just completely moronic, myopic and knee-jerk.

When is print going to stop with the self-mutilation?

And I love when "journalists" like Kornheiser and Wilbon preface anti-New Media rants by saying "well, I'm an old timer."

It's like it's 1912 and we're discussing women's suffrage again. Being a product of a different generation and refusing to adapt don't have to be mutually exclusive.

What do you all provide that we can't find elsewhere for free?

Love the costumes.

Email the ombudsman, people

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/deborah+howell/

Hey guys: It's the Toy Department! If you can't have some fun writing about sports, then why bother? Maybe you should let Tom Boswell and George Will get together and compare prostate exams. Better let, let the Ape give them the finger.

@ non-skinsfan

Is it 'moronic, myopic and knee-jerk' for an internationally respected publication (six Pulitzers last week) to part ways with a staffer who neglects to get prior permission as required to do outside work, and then does that work for a blog with completely different standards? Kissing Suzy Kolber is pretty funny and interesting, but it also goes out of its way to be vulgar, racially offensive, sexually offensive, etc.

Way to make all the basement-dwellers angry. How out of touch can you possibly be?!??!

You lost one subscriber.

@skinsfan: The point that non-skinsfan was attempting to make (quite obviously, I might add) is that regardless of the paper's policy on blogging, there are certainly other ways they could have handled the situation. I highly doubt that the only punishment for such an "offense" is termination. If it is, that shows how laughable their policies are.

In response to KSK going out of it's way to be "be vulgar, racially offensive, sexually offensive, etc.," all I could possibly suggest is that you get a sense of humor.

But then again, what do I know? I only have a journalism degree & I'm a loyal KSK reader. Clearly, I should be moving into my parent's basement, pining for a job writing obituaries at my local rag.

If anything, this should prove better for Ape in the long run. Bravo, WaPo. Bravo.

While I (strongly) disagree with Ape getting fired, the Post won't see an increase or decrease in circulation. KSK is read by less than 15,000 people a day, hardly enough to make a dent. This will have no affect on their paper.

To paraphrase a line from All the Presidents Men, I hope the editor responsible for firing the Ape gets her or his [woman part]/[man part] in a big ringer over this.

FREE THE APE!!!

From the Post's policy until KSK got $ it wasn't really free lance or "outside employment" so Ape didn't have to clear it.

That's an important point. KSK just switched, as soon as they did, THEN it was "employment." As instructed, Ape notified his supervisors. Did he ever.

Way to give 'em the bird, Ape! (or the large, intoxicated parrot...)

I'm nevering reading the Post again after the unjust firing of Tunison.

Wow... This was a brilliant move by the Post. Everybody knows about KSK, but I'd never heard of the Washington Post until you dooced Ape.
So you guys are an alt-weekly, right?

Real quick...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

@ youknow

It's not as clearcut as you say. Read the article quoting the Post editor (link below). It doesn't say the newspaper's policy only applies to paid work. The written policy says "many outside activities" as well as jobs "are incompatible with the proper performance of work on an independent newspaper."

It also says that employees' "private behavior" as well as professional work "must not bring discredit to our profession or to The Post."

The Post sets standards different from KSK's. Those include avoiding obscenities, and racially and sexually offensive content. KSK revels in such material, which is one big reason why for many people it's a lot funnier than the Washington Post (except for Weingarten, Kornheiser and the Style Invitational). It's a case of different standards for different audiences -- or for the same audience in different moods.

Here's the link to the article, by the industry magazine Editor and Publisher, quoting the Post's editor and policy:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003790987

Wow, you guys sure screwed this one up.

That was a DISGUSTING act! Unlike some of the others, I DO visit your website regularly, rather DID visit regularly. This way to freedom, APE!

"We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features."

Analyze this!

/gives WaPost the finger.

Another shovel-scoop toward the bottom of the newspaper industry's inevitable grave. I can't help but laugh at how out of touch you guys are as a whole...

Live on, Ape! Hope to see more of you on KSK!

BOOOOO!!!!

I'm rolling over in my grave. Long live Xmas Ape!

Initially I found it hard to believe that an entity that exists soley because of the freedom of the press and the desire of the masses to have the freedome read said press would fire a journalist for writing. Upon a very quick second thought I realized that Ape's efforts were in fact, not cool man. Thank you, WaPo. Thank you for having the puritan rightousness to fire a dude for entertaining me.

Come to Portland, Ape! We need to replace that Canzano hack at The Oregonian now. And we're a bunch of anti-establishment hippies who LOOOOOVE bloggers, free speech and contrarianess. I don't have a basement for you, but a nice guest room with a roomy twin is all yours, man!

KSK is the best blog for sports out there. Keep up the good work over there, fellas! No smirre fol WaPo.

In the hopes that my comments are not lightly dismissed I wish to echo the responses of my brethren above.

I am greatly disappointed in a paper that professes to be a paragon of journalistic virtue.

I wish the Ape all of the best in his future endeavors.

Holy drama Batman. You guys all sound like a bunch of Ape sycophants. I'm sure he'd do the same for you... or not.

Congratulations. I just canceled my subscription.

If you blog-addicted sheep can't see this as the KSK publicity stunt that it is, well, then there's no hope for you. This is the "War of the Worlds" of blog publicity stunts.

Guess what? Tunison wanted to get fired (he admitted that he would when he outed himself), and did so to attract attention to KSK, which now has to turn a profit, just like the big-boy media outlets.

I admire KSK for pulling this off. My admiration for all you idiots who fell for it, though, could not be lower.

BTW, the Post thanks you for all the Web hits. Schmucks.

BTW2, Tunison didn't work for the Sports department. A shiny nickel to the first of you morons who actually know which section he worked for. A shiny dime to the first of you morons who actually read one of his stories.

BTW3, again, nice work bumping up the Post's Web hits. You people are truly dumb.

I am not a reader of Christmas Ape's blog, but reading about the Post's handling of this deepens my disgust for this newspaper.

The Washington Post is run by cowards.

These are great comments - try posting them on www.sportsfananza.com - a new sports fan video site.

WaPo. DO NOT WANT!

BTW4 - OWEAO is a mortard.

Welcome to the death of mainstream media:

so out of touch with contemporary culture,
so self-obsessed,
so far beyond old school that they never even heard the phrase "old school".

so far away in the rear-view mirror.

Welcome to the birth of anonymous commenting, so full of nonsense such as "DO NOT WANT" and "mortard" (whatever that means--what are you, 8 years old?). So not full of cogent argument backed up by facts.

Dear WaPo:

Look forward to seeing you down here soon.

Love, Barbaro

Wow, the Post didn't want one of their employees doing racist humor on another site. I fail to see what's so controversial about that.

OWEAO,

Hell, I'm willing to admit it's very possible Tunison DID want to be fired.

The point (which you seem to have missed completely) was that he WAS fired. Over posting on a BLOG and DRINKING at a BAR. Both activities that he does (and did) away from the golden confines of The Washington Post. And both are activities which don't affect The Post in the slightest.

Just because he may have had an ulterior motive for "outing himself" doesn't change the fact that the policies that led to his termination are nonsensical and outdated.

Oh, by the way, Tunison worked in Metro/Maryland. You see, had you actually read the post in which Tunison "outed" himself, you'd know he posted a link to the list of articles he's written for The Post. That very link is what led to his aforementioned termination, as he doesn't directly mention The Post anywhere in the entry.

After seeing the link, we, the blog-reading, mother's basement-living people that we are, did in fact read a few of his articles. Again, if you read either KSK or the comments in this blog, you'd see multiple references to the "soft news" BS he's been writing.

But alas! My post here is for wont. God knows, by writing this comment, I am just adding another comment to the hundreds you (or anyone else) won't read, and I am adding to the enormous amounts of ad revenue The Post earns from website hits. Which is pennies.

Thank God for 'apes' firing.
He writes for a trash of a website and hopefully that'll sort out his priorities. His 'work' was garbage and if this is what is takes to rid the world of his ignorant rubbish than good riddance.

And if you honestly think newspapers are a dying medium, you truly don't understand the business. Newspapers make ad revenue to fund the majority of their operations and as long there are papers to print their will be advertisers.

Get your facts right before you complain about a quality paper booting a less than average writer who couldn't adhere to simple rules.

"Thank God," I'm not sure *you* get how the industry works.

Here though ... since you respect The Post so much as a source of news, you might find this interesting.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/02/AR2005050201457.html

Too lazy to copy+paste? Allow me to summarize. In a manner you will understand.

Grunt.
Newspapers earn money by ad revenue. Newspapers paid by advertisers by how many people read said paper.
Less people reading said paper.
Newspapers losing money.

No, I don't think newspapers are going to die out anytime soon, but if you're actually going to make an argument that newspapers aren't up *poop* creek without a paddle right now, you don't understand economics.

...oh, by the way ... that article is from three years ago. The situation hasn't improved.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003723373

That was posted a few days ago in the E&P. The Post's circulation, according to that article has declined 13% over the last four years.

And so the line is drawn between whom newspaper management says it wants to appeal to and whom it really strives to appease.

But I'll bet there's more to it than this.

I guarantee you that the Washington Post received as many, if not more, comments supporting Tunison's firing in letter form from those members of its readership who do not regularly use computers in the course of their days.

It appears the sad choice here, of course, is that the Post decided its draconian policies ("We work for no one except The Washington Post without permission from supervisors. Many outside activities and jobs are incompatible with the proper performance of work on an independent newspaper" -- "work" is vague here, but seems to imply money exchanged for services, which Tunison did not receive prior to the sale of Kissing Suzy Kolber; "Our private behavior as well as our professional behavior must not bring discredit to our profession or to The Post." = "Don't do anything outside of work that you wouldn't do at work, although you are supposedly free to do so since we are no longer paying you for that time") should be followed to the letter, without even a discussion as to how having a respected and well-read writer who happened to write for a blog for free on his own time as part of their staff might be used to increase revenue, or to reach out to the coveted demographic they claim they want.

Instead, management seems to have taken the knee-jerk reaction of appeasing those readers who have been loyal subscribers for decades but are slowly and surely dying off by immediately firing him.

It's probably true Tunison planned on getting fired by revealing his identity. It also may be that the Post's higher-ups had a long, drawn-out discussion weighing the pros and cons of the situation and ultimately decided the revenue possibilities weren't worth angering their well-entrenched, if not young, subscribers. As long as they keep the details behind the cloak of "not discussing personnel issues," we'll never know for sure.

It does appear, however, that the Post missed out on a good opportunity.

Um, the kid was a racist jackass and when he named himself on his blog the world knew it. The Post is a professional news organization that trades on its credibility. He screwed himself.

How could the Post send him out on a serious story? How could they not can him?

Whatever. It's not like the Montgomery County bureau can't find another clerk.

"Welcome to the birth of anonymous commenting..."

Dude I know, it will be interesting to see what results follow from anonymous commenting has elsewhere on the internet. I for one cannot wait to examine the impact this novel form of communication has. And to think, we can trace the source to this website!

So in the past 24 hours I've learned two things about the Washington Post.

1. They won't stand by their writers if they disagree with what they do in their free time.

2. They issue "cease and desist" orders when someone wants to make one of their articles more widely available.

So what exactly do you stand by or for Washington Post?

Welcome to the real world, boys. If you want to have a public site where you post pictures of your drunken debauchery, complete with foul language, you're not going to have a job anywhere. Christmas Ape is a complete moron for coming out in this manner. Congrats on the Post for firing him. Why can't you kids just take Polaroids and pass them around, like we used to do? Morons.

HAHA, Tunison is such an idiot. What did he think was going to happen? Dude was an editorial aide for christ's sake. I'm sure the Post will really miss his one 8-inch story every two weeks.

@losers

even Warren Jeffs and the 1920's temperance movement don't think that pic of Ape counts as 'debauchery'

Would the Post fire a writer for appearing in an R-rated movie or a profane HBO show? Doubt it. So how is this any different?

Firing Ape = no hugging incidents for you.

@ Phuleez...
The picture in and of itself would have been OK. His caption that he was "totally [foul language] hammered" would not be tolerated by any company in America. He displayed shockingly bad judgment in coming out in this manner. It causes me to question his judgment on other matters, like writing news stories. He deserved to be escorted out of the building.

You no make smirre. You dying meedum of smarr plinted chopstick wolds.

Chlismas Ape make me smirre rots.

Break yoseff, foo!

*throws battery*

Your wife will miss his 8 inches too.

The Ape and his friends are tools. Grow up and get jobs, boys.

The Post had to do what it did, and I'm baffled that people are up in arms about it.

Imagine if, say, David Broder was writing an anonymous blog filled with terribly racist Asian jokes, humor that was so racist that audiences grew tired of it way back in the 1950s. Now imagine if the Post found out about it. Broder wouldn't be working there any longer, either.

it's not racist, it's SATIRE... hell, the post you referenced is tagged: "Hines Ward is still my favorite Steeler".

If that's racist then so are Family Guy, All in the Family, South Park and every other form of all-is-fair-game satire.

Really? So news editors are now offended by DRINKING IN A BAR BEFORE ONES TEAM PLAYS IN THE SUPER BOWL!?

I mean, it really makes sense to you for an employer to say 'Look, I know you're well over 21, and even though you weren't committing a crime or representing the paper at this event, we're going to fire you because you said you were drunk in this one picture.'

Really? Be honest: you know it wasn't about that at all.

So...is Steinz in hiding or something....?

Who is this grape ape guy and why was he fired?

All the web hits in the world won't save the washington post. I'm looking forward to the day when you thugs are all out of work.

I for one am angry about your mistreatment of Apes.

Pure Jackassery. You are the man holding apes down.

Great Story.
I like Dreams.
I also like pictures of beasts holding beautiful Victorian Dames.
I would rather have a picture of the Dame holding my beast.
Long live christmas ape.

dooshbaggery at its finest! Give 'em the axe! Long live the ape!

It's infuriating how the Bog's main writer gravytrains KSK and whatever else is all goofy on Blog Show, but then when it comes time to stand tall and say anything about the matter, sits on his hands ... nice work.

Get bent for firing the Ape. Great strategy for your old media comeback, fire your good writers and close down your foreign bureaus. This and lame reporting is why you are the laughing stock of the larger newspapers. Compared to the NYT you are more like USA Today with less graphs and more bs. I will never read WP again, not when there is the "internet" and LAT & NYT.

Posers

Maybe the editor was a Seahawks fan. Can't blame him.

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