Last week, in a puzzling editorial decision, the Washington Post gave in-house social gadfly Sally Quinn the column space to overshare at length about her extant personal problems, under the pretense that a worried nation of newspaper subscribers was in dire need of catharsis and closure at her side, to draw from her experience the life lessons needed to avoid being related to Sally Quinn by blood or by marriage.
Today, an eagle-eyed tipster pointed out that Quinn's column came up this morning in a live chat hosted by "Washington Post job expert" Lily Garcia. The chat, titled "How To Deal Live," was a place for Post readers to get answers to their "career- and workplace-related questions." The second question, from "Burke, Va.," appeared to come from a Washington Post employee, and it was delightful!
Burke, Va.: I'm so confused!
Our ex-boss' wife (HIS third wife) still writes for the company newsletter. Last week, she wrote a column about how her son's wedding is on the same day as her husband's granddaughter's wedding, on opposite coasts, and nobody can figure out why we're supposed to care. I guess everybody likes the old man so much that everybody's afraid to tell his wife that her column is absurd and makes the company newsletter look stupid.
Any suggestions?
Garcia's response read:
It sounds like the column, although inappropriate, is basically harmless. You could try suggesting topics that you would like to see covered in the newsletter, but you should stop short of proposing that the ex-boss' wife be excluded.
Or? An "editor" could suggest that the "ex-boss' wife" should maybe submit content that's more appropriate for publication.