After news broke this morning about the demise of New York Press, NYT political reporter Nick Confessore tweeted: “Remember ‘Mugger’?” Mugger is what Press co-founder Russ Smith called himself when he put on his media critic hat. He appeared on Romenesko many times over the years; here are a few of my favorite Smith/Mugger posts:
* 2003: Smith suggests Conde Nast or Hearst publish Obituary Magazine
* 2003: Smith says the death of Salon wouldn’t kill American democracy
* 2003: Smith says there’s nothing hip or edgy in Esquire | Granger responds
* 2004: Smith admits he pumped up the rhetoric in “Mugger” column | (URL was changed)
* 2005: Smith calls Michael Wolff a .200 hitter for Vanity Fair
* 2008: Smith predicts New York Times will be sold by Dec. 31, 2009