Prima Donna Gonzo Science Writers Leave Ripsaw Under Cloud of Scandal

Before the rumor mill gets out of hand, let me offer this gossipy pre-emptive strike straight from the horse's mouth. Today the Gonzo Science column and the Ripsaw became officially divorced. (It is not because we landed the Free Duluth! column in the Reader, which we cleared with Ripsaw publisher Brad Nelson well ahead of time with his blessing.) The whole thing began as a dispute with the Ripsaw editor (not Brad), who we felt was being too aggressive with one of his proposed changes to the column we submitted for the February issue (now delayed until March for lack of ad sales). We had happily made six out seven of his proposed edits but we choked on number seven. Emails back and forth quickly degenerated into snippiness and sarcasm and now stands firmly in he said/she said territory. Tiring of the aggressive editing style and predicting rough roads ahead, we made overtures to the Reader who welcomed Gonzo Science with open arms. Before we could tell the Ripsaw that we were out, the editor "fired" us, whereupon we used the immortal line, "You can't fire us, we quit." So there you have it. I would like to add that there is no bad blood between me and Brad. Anyway, say what you will about the Reader having no style or whatever; it's true. But they're doing something right as shown by their longevity, which bookended the Ripsaw's weekly run. And as writers, we are very attracted to their editorial policy which will allow us to say precisely what we want with a bigger word count to boot. Look for Gonzo Science in the Reader sometime after Feb 10, where it will run bi-weekly. Good luck to the Ripsaw and all Ripsaw writers. It has been a pleasure being associated with you.