Finke offers one explanation from a source in the show...

"One of the great things about Mad Men is the tradition that Matt has established of offering higher-level opportunities to staff, writers and artists in all of the various departments. From the beginning, Matt has fought to get people approved by the studio which almost always lobbied for him to hire more experienced people instead."

"We think [Kater's] done a great job, particularly for someone whose career has progressed so quickly. Now, however, Matt has reluctantly decided that their relationship has reached its full potential. She'll be missed, but the series has consistently benefited from the influx of new writer talent, and there's absolutely no doubt that Kater will continue to have unprecedented success in her career as she spreads her wings. She leaves Mad Men with our love and respect and a well-deserved Emmy."

...that's clearly in Weiner's camp. Maybe this is the truth! Or maybe she might as well have placed an email from the show's flack in exchange for a better scoop later on. But the truth can't be this simple. Finke—who exercises a Machiavellian hand over the comments in her posts—left it to her commenters to speculate. And by speculate, we mean, speak for her. And I imagine someone at AMC is asking Finke why she's not deleting comments like she normally does on issues she wants to control.

Let's look at some of the more interesting theories:

• Matthew Weiner had a strictly unprofessional relationship with her, or as the commenter put it:

  *cough*LETTERMAN*cough*

  Well, Gordon did have a very quick rise through the rankings of Mad Men. Again: started as Weiner's assistant. Became a writers' assistant. Weiner then let her co-write the last season finale with him, and now, she's a staff writer for the third season. Or was, until she got fired. Staff writing jobs are not easy to come by, obviously. Sure, it's topical. And maybe it's worth noting that this is the first show Weiner's ever been a showrunner on. I somehow doubt this theory. If something inappropriate took place, why would he fire her? Probability: unlikely.
  
  

• Jealousy Issues. Another commenter writes:

  There was a really weird moment during the acceptance where Matt kind of 'snatched' the Emmy from her...The photo gets at it but I remember it being uncomfortable to watch. I always [sic] trhought they worked with these relatively inexperienced people on this show primarily for financial reasons. Allows them to put as much money as possible up on the screen.

  I'm not sure I buy the "inexperienced writers" line so much as the one above: that Mad Men hires writers with low quotes because they can afford to do so by reputation, and allocate the money elsewhere on the show. Weiner's a notorious control freak, as evidenced by the show, obviously. Hollywood loves a young, hot writer, and Gordon's cute and staffed on a hit show. Maybe this made Weiner uncomfortable. Or maybe Gordon's ego from the win outgrew Weiner's ability to micromanage, which could've been marginally. Even so, another commenter draws a comparison to Peggy and Don Draper's relationship, noting that this could give a certain scene from earlier in the season more significance...

  One just goes balls to the wall:

  Anyone who believes this horseshit is completely naïve. Matt Weiner is the lowest of the low in our business. He is a egomaniac and the likelihood is that he was incensed that he had to share credit and let alone an Emmy with her. A lowly former writer's assistant. As far as he is concerned, he is solely responsible for the success of this show and no other writer, producer, director, actor, key grip have done anything to contribute to the show's success. For Pete's sake, he didn't even let Kater Gordon say a word when they got up on stage. It was her moment as well but Weiner made it ALL about him.

  Though egomaniacs are kind of par for the course, no?
  
  

• And another one just thinks Matt was unloading unnecessary cargo:

  The only episode she wrote by herself was "The Fog" and it was terrible. Looks like Matt got too excited and promoted her too quickly…

Update: Finke posted from a writer who supposedly knows by Weiner and Gordon, who insists there was no "Letterman" play involved. "She totally got the show and deserved the break she got. There was NOTHING illicit in her relationship with Matt." 'Figured. But Finke has yet to posit any theories...

[Photo via Mark J. Terrill/AP]

Replacing Lyons and Mankiewicz as hosts of the long-running show, formerly hosted by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, will be A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune, two men widely respected in the world of film criticism who have both served as fill-ins on the show in the past.

As the LA Times Patrick Goldstein notes, Ben Mankiewicz wasn't all that bad, but it appears as though he was brought down by the tremendous weight of Lyons' Herculean suckage.

To be fair, Mankiewicz, the scion of a fabled Hollywood family who hosts Turner Classic Movies presentations, was clearly more knowledgeable than his counterpart. As my colleague Chris Lee reported last December, Lyons, son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons, was held in such low esteem in the critical fraternity that others in the profession were lining up, happy to be quoted by name ridiculing his work, with Chicago-based film critic Erik Childress saying of Lyons: "He has no taste. Everyone thinks he's a joke."

So how awful was Ben Lyons? This awful:

You know what hurts a movie like Max Payne is the success of the Batman franchise. That obviously is about story and character so they think for all films of the genre it's gotta be about story and character and this whole backstory of him losing his wife. I don't care about that. I wanna see Max Payne shoot people. That's all I want from a movie like this.

Film lovers of the America rejoice — your own personal long national nightmare is finally over! But what will now become of the "Stop Ben Lyons" blog?

A tipster forwarded us this email from Newsweek CEO Tom Ascheim announcing the firing of six top managers. It begins:

To note the obvious, we find ourselves in transformational times. This need for renewal is in every article we read about this nation, the global economy and most certainly in the world of journalism. I am extremely proud of the work we have all done to transform the brand, the website, the magazine and even the very space in which we work.

The evolution of all things Newsweek has fundamentally changed the way we express ourselves to the public. It is time now to remake the inside of our organization so that our internal operations are as modern and appropriate for the moment as our public face has become. With this spirit in mind, I announce with mixed emotion a fundamental reorganization of our Finance, Operations, M&D and IT organizations. The mixed part is that in welcoming the new we have to say good-bye to folks that have served Newsweek devotedly. A word now about each.

Ascheim then goes on to sing the praises of Tracia Luh, Jennie Tse Wang and Joe Galarneau, the new people, droning on and on about their work histories and educational backgrounds, and then he gets to the dirty work:

Bringing in new people requires that we say good-bye to some of our most capable veterans: Paul Dworkis, Karen Stark, Len Carella, John Rusak, Valerie Gordon-Wiggan and Colleen Moran, whose last day will be Friday, July 17th. In all cases, these people have served us capably, giving us their sweat, smarts and loyalty. I, along with all of you, owe them our thanks many times over. John and Valerie, our newest additions have done much to bring discipline to our financial processes. Len and Colleen, among many accomplishments, have built us this glorious space that makes me smile every time I walk through the door. Karen, a twenty-five year Newsweek veteran has done some of her best work over the last year as we transitioned to our new beautiful paper stock that makes the magazine literally shimmer. Paul, the hardest working man in the news business has been both a great teacher to me and a stalwart steward of so much of what makes Newsweek run. In order to assure an orderly transition, Paul has graciously agreed to remain available to me to help on the transition for the remainder of the year.

Change is never easy. But without evolution we cannot progress. Please join me in welcoming Tracia, Jennie and Joe. And please also join me in thanking and wishing bon chance to Paul, Karen, Len, John, Valerie and Colleen.

Tom

Our tipster informed us that of the six outgoing employees, five were fired outright while one, Paul Dworkis, was given the opportunity to retire. Good luck out there guys.

Earlier this week Gothamist reported that Chrissie had been suspended from her job at Plum TV after the New York Post reported that she was screaming anti-Semitic slurs at the Hasidic Jewish cop who arrested her for her pugskullery. Now, they say, she's officially been canned. She says it was for "'equivocating' in the press" when she initially denied making anti-Semitic statements; Plum TV told Gothamist "Her employment was terminated for valid reasons, unrelated to the determination of whether or not she made the objectionable statements as alleged in the press."

HMMM. All we ever wanted was for this to be a stupid, stupid story about a dog, and its puke, and the L train, to while away the long hours of the summer. Yet now it has metastasized into something bigger—and uglier. Brodigan very explicitly denies that she ever made any anti-Semitic comments. The only evidence she did is one mysterious "witness" quoted by the city's shadiest tabloid. It's turned tragic. The only one who could clear this all up is the pug. And he's not talking.
[Gothamist. Pic via]

Technically, TMZ is reporting, that she was let go for "breach of contract." Prejean was originally granted amnesty by The Donald, after gay rights activists got up in arms about her hateful rhetoric and—oops!—some nude photos turned up. But now the axe really has fallen, because Carrie California just got too wrapped in fame—becoming a vocal anti-homo advocate and even guest-hosting on the execrable Fox & Friends. All of these after-beauty-school activities were supposed to have been cleared by the pageant, but what are rules, really?

So, she's losing her title not because she's an ignorant bigot, but because she didn't read the fine print. Doesn't much matter anyway, as another beauty queen from the Golden State, Miss Malibu Tami Farrell, had already assumed most of the day-to-day pageant duties when the whole nude/gay/Perez scandal broke out.

It'll be pretty hard to blame the wind for this whole mess, Carr.

First off, after communicating with a number of people with ties to the magazine, it's apparent that what went down today at OK! wasn't the result of the financial distress so common throughout the print media industry, but something born mainly out of catty jealously, distrust and hatred, specifically the jealousy, distrust and hatred publisher Lori Burgess held for lead editor Katie Caperton. Burgess didn't like Caperton, so she set out to fire her, sending most of the employees who aligned themselves with Caperton packing as well. It's as simple as that.

Frankly, the whole thing sounds like a chapter from a Lauren Weisberger or Sophie Kinsella novel. Even the name of the main character, Katie Caperton, sounds so painfully chick-litty, but whatever.

Most of the dishing from OK! Magazine employees past and present centered around Burgess. Here's a sampling...

Lori Burgess, walked each fire-ee over to human resources, pretending to feel bad as she led people to their firings. The words that came out of her mouth were textbook: restructuring. new vision. future....the whole thing seemed most unbelievable given that most of the magazine was nowhere near done.

Back at the office "it's a shit show" — meaning Lori has told the people who are left that they're on the team for now, but the chances of more people being fired is very likely. Everyone is miserable.

The poor people still there are totally confused. No one has any idea what the fuck is going on.

Look, Lori Burgess is just a hideous bitch. Just a used-up, grandmotherly whiskey person.

Lori told everyone in a meeting that Katie's job was like climbing Mount Everest and that we were all just dead weight in her backpack, weighing her down.

She goes around referring to herself and Richard Desmond as 'Blondie and Panther,' she's Blondie and he's Panther.

Lori claims to understand what needs to be done to make the magazine better, that it needs to appeal to a certain demographic, but then she goes and fires all of the very people at the magazine who best understand the demographic they're trying to appeal to, without ever really giving them much of a chance to prove themselves.

Before she fired everyone, she made us all come in for an 8am meeting, where she gave her "balls" speech. She said that we all needed to have balls at OK! Magazine, two balls specifically, and that we were all going to have to juggle them. She said anyone who wasn't prepared to juggle their balls should just leave so she could find someone else with balls who was willing to juggle them.

I guess the speech above was Lori Burgess' take on Alec Baldwin's brass balls monologue in Glengarry Glen Ross?

Finally, someone at the magazine called to point out that boozy running enthusiast Jennifer Birn had not been one of the people fired, as reported earlier, adding...

Jennifer's still full of enough bullshit that she won't be fired for a while. She's still sucking ass.

Wow. OK! Magazine sounds like a swell place to work these days, doesn't it?

Via email our tipster said the following...

Can confirm that Katie Caperton has been fired from OK! Magazine and at least 3 other high-level staff. More lay-offs expected tonight. OK! is in the middle of closing this week's issue and not clear how that will happen with half the staff gone.

I do not work there but my best friend does and she was fired along with Katie and several others. I know that they brought in a bunch of staff from L.A. to help close the magazine and that at least one freelancer walked out in solidarity.

Then, a short while ago, OK! rep Brian Strong confirmed Caperton's firing.

Rumors are also swirling that publisher Lori Burgess plans to name editorial consultant Jason Oliver Nixon (You've gotta keep an eye on those damn consultants!) as the new editor-in-chief, something our own Ryan Tate reported earlier in the month. Burgess' LinkedIn profile also seems to lend credibility to those rumors.

If you have any further information on any of this, please share it with us. Your anonymity will be honored.

UPDATE: We've learned that the firings took place just after the magazine's closing time of 6pm. Those rumored to have been fired include staff writer Lindsey Hunter Lopez, food and health editor Karen Berg, and boozy running enthusiast Jennifer Birn, the magazine's society editor and author of the Simply Jenn blog on the OK! website.

UPDATE #2: We've also learned that managing editor Jennifer Doll and entertainment editor Delaina Dixon have also been fired.

UPDATE #3: Boozy running enthusiast Jennifer Birn has NOT been fired, as reported in the initial update on the post. We apologize for the error and stand corrected.

Caldera, Clinton's Secretary of the Army and Obama's director of the White House Military Office, has "resigned," before the "review" of the whole fuckup even finished!

All he did was have a 747 circle the financial district, trailed by fighter jets, for the sake of a photo-op, while knowing full well that that would cause a panic. And then he ordered everyone briefed on the flyover to keep it secret from the public, for fun! Oh, how New York laughed, that morning.

Hey, what time is it? It is late Friday afternoon! So we will probably even get the photo of not-Air Force One going all North by Northwest on Lady Liberty by, say, 5!

Update: Or by 4:25, either way! Here is the photo of Air Force One, on an ugly-looking day, flying over a brown river, with a background of beautiful Jersey City. Yeesh. You guys couldn't touch this up a bit? Make it look like the panic was worth it? Hah, no, because this was a stupid idea for a photo op to begin with.

[Photo: BMcCluskeyNYC]

In this economy, ABC can't afford to only let go every gay, gay-adjacent, or gay-hating actor on Grey's Anatomy. Other ABC series are feeling the burn, and two newly departing actors were announced today.

The first? Nicollette Sheridan of Desperate Housewives, according to E!:

So how's she getting offed? Here are the exclusive details of the rumored exit...

As it's been penned: Edie [Sheridan] finds out her husband, Dave, plans to kill her-and Dave almost does kill her. She runs out of the house, but alas, poor Edie gets in an accident, something involving her car and an electrical wire. More details to come; the script is still being released for table reads.

Our condolences, Nicollette; may David Spade offer you a spindly shoulder to cry on. Also getting formally fired is the much-rumored-about Balthazar Getty, says E!:

After weeks of rumors that Getty has been causing problems on the set, sources tell us exclusively that episode 19, titled "Spring Broken," will be Getty's last of the season.

According to insiders who work on the show, Getty's character, Tommy Walker, will have a very dramatic and surprising storyline in coming episodes, in which he will-spoiler alert!-go to jail, get out on bail and go on the lam in Mexico.

But here's the really scandalous part...

Sources tell me that before he goes, Balthazar's Tommy will get thoroughly wasted, flirt with young girls and get a nice slap across the face from his mother, Nora (Sally Field).

Is it a case of art imitating adulterous life, or were Getty's future plotlines swallowed-up by Field's maniacal scene-chewing? Whatever it is, we're sure the tumbling economy didn't help; it's a good thing Lost announced an end-date it's working steadily toward, or we have a feeling that the May sweeps smoke monster would leave no one on the show besides Michael Emerson and the dog who plays Vincent. Actually, we would still watch that.

• Exclusive! Nicollette Sheridan's Desperate Housewives Days Numbered [E!]

• BREAKING NEWS: Nicollette Sheridan Leaving Desperate Housewives [E!]

The company's stock price since 2004:

So yes, Lyne oversaw a decline of more than 75% from the stock's February, 2005 high point. Was that due to her incompetence? Keep in mind that that high point came in anticipation of the company's resurgence when Stewart got out of jail. And Wall Street didn't seem to react ecstatically to Lyne's departure; the stock fell another 3% in the wake of the news this morning.

Magazines are on a longer, slower decline than the newspaper industry is, but an inevitable decline all the same. Public publishing companies with a big stake in magazines are going to see their revenues decline, their stock prices fall, and their investors get angry. They can fire people left and right, doing their best to momentarily assign blame for what is, in reality, a tectonic shift in the media marketplace. But they won't start seeing a real turnaround until the Internet has been fully monetized by old-guard media interests. And that day is a long way off.

Maybe Lyne's successors with do a better job; maybe they won't. Either way, magazine company stocks are a dangerous bet—for investors and CEOs alike.

UPDATE: From an interview conducted two weeks ago with Susan Lyne: "Q: Assuming you finally get some time off, what would be your dream vacation? A: My dream would be going somewhere I've never been that's reasonably exotic." Now she can! Also: Slate's Daniel Gross used Lyne's career path from journalism to the executive suite as the prime example of why journalists shouldn't become CEOs. Back in 2004. The more you know!

Subject: [THING 2] To everyone at Showtime - I am writing this letter to let everyone know what really happened to our good friend [THING 1], who worked at our company for over 13 years.

[THING 1] did not resign - she was blindsided by Mr. Untouchable, [THING 2], and the "powers that be" at our wonderful company Showtime.

About a month ago [THING 1] was asked to go out to dinner by [THING 3] and [THING 2] for [THING 3]'s birthday party. The attendees were [THING 3] , his parents, his sister, [THING 1], her husband, and [THING 2], and his wife.

At the end of the dinner [THING 2] told [THING 1] to pay for the dinner on her Showtime American Express card. [THING 2] being [THING 1]'s boss, she didn't hesitate and paid the bill. After all he was the one who approved her expenses.

About 2 weeks later [THING 1] was called down to HR to talk about this particular incident. [THING 1] responded with nothing but the truth. Implicating herself in the process. Yes she lied on her expense report, however [THING 2] told her to do so.

This is where it gets good. After her conversation with HR [THING 3] called [THING 1] in a panic, asking her what they had asked and what he should expect when he was called down to HR. While on the phone with [THING 1], [THING 2] stormed into [THING 3]'s office (also in a panic) and told [THING 3] to outright lie, and say that [THING 2] was there for only one drink and then left. And to then tell HR that [THING 1] volunteered to pay for the dinner. Removing [THING 2] from the dinner and therefore out of harms way. [THING 3] at first was reluctant, but [THING 2] said, "I need you to protect me so I can protect you and [THING 1]" almost verbatim.

[THING 2] left the room and [THING 1], still on the phone and hearing all of this told [THING 3] to do what is right and tell the truth.
Spineless [THING 3] in turn went down to HR and did exactly what [THING 2] wanted him to do. He lied. After the meeting with HR [THING 3] slithered his way up to [THING 1]'s office crying and profusely apologized. "I can't believe I did that to you." He wept.

The very next day (after a sleepless night I would imagine) [THING 3] stormed down to HR and did the right thing. He told them he had lied and that [THING 2] not only was at the dinner the whole
night, not only told [THING 1] to pay for the bill, but he also told him to lie to HR not more than 12 hours ago.

After all this, Showtime not only fires a woman who has dedicated years of her life to this disgusting company, but they let [THING 2] off without so much as a slap on the wrist. They should all be ashamed of themselves. Disgusting.

The funniest thing about [THING 2] is that he really thinks we all genuinely like him. The fact of the matter is we ALL secretly despise him, but because we all fear him so much we would never say it to his face. And by the way [THING 2], everyone talks about you behind your back. How does that feel? This is just another reason for all of us to fear him. If he can walk away from this and the other countless things he's done to previous employees, we should all beware. Who's next on [THING 2]'s list? This is a disgusting excuse for a human being, who has made more enemies at every job he's ever worked, accepts absolutely no culpability, and still he moves up the ladder. Crazy, the innocent get flushed down the toilet and the ruthless assholes move forward.

This is not entirely [THING 2] fault. Showtime is hugely to blame here. How many people have to suffer, for Showtime to actually get off their asses and do something about a guy who has a file on him thicker than Webster's dictionary. He's a lawsuit waiting to happen, and I know many people who can't wait for that day.

We all know [THING 1] and how she conducted herself here at Showtime for 13 plus years and how classy of a lady she is. She has been nothing but a friend to all of us (even to [THING 2], blech), and it is just so sad that a woman like that gets the shaft.

I for one would like to say that [THING 1] being fired for this Asshole shows what kind of people we work for. She did nothing wrong, except listened to [THING 2].

[THING 1] you should know, you're so much better than them. Sleep well at night knowing that. Thank every day you are not part of this disgusting company any longer. Enjoy your life. You have a beautiful
new baby, a great husband, and real friends who you know you can count on. I love you and will miss you very much.

I thought everyone had a right to know the truth.

Anonymous

"While Christian says that the art at the New York galleries he critiques is in a separate sphere from the type of art that would appear in the fairs, we don’t want to put a reviewer in a situation that calls for an ethical juggling act. Since Christian has made it clear that he will continue to fill out the terms of his art-fair contract, we wish him great success, thank him for the excellent work he has done, and feel disappointment that he will cease writing for us."

Sources say Ortega was none too pleased by the revelation; according to one, Viveros-Faune was "working the phones" last night, spreading the word that he was getting some serious flak. We give the Voice plenty of flak ourselves, but we're impressed with how promptly they dealt with this one.

Previously: 'Voice' Art Critic Takes Heat For Conflict Of Interest

Previously: Kelly Kreth Bares Junk In Trunk For Hunk Paul Janka

Three Top Execs Fired At Johnson Publishing [Folio]

Earlier: If Julia Allison is A Media Whore, Does That Make Us a Media Pimp?

As all of you know by now, MTV, along with several of our other MTV Networks brands, have made some organizational changes this week. It's never easy to make changes that result in good people leaving, and I want to let everyone know that none of these decisions were made hastily. These tough choices have been made in order to align our business priorities with our organizational resources, streamline and consolidate some areas within our structure and allow us to invest more assets in key growth areas. And while I know that these past few days have been personally hard for all of us, I also know that MTV still holds a unique place in the lives of young people everywhere. Across all our screens, we are creating places where young people are inspired and entertained. That's been our mission since day one and it's what all of you, with your passion and dedication, make happen every day.

Because there have been a lot of rumors and speculation, I wanted you to hear from me directly about the changes at our brand.

We've decided to consolidate the operations of MTV2 within MTV, and many of the hard-working production and development people of MTV2 will be leaving the organization. The MTV2 that you all know and love will still be there - packed 24 hours a day with the music and shows that its young male viewers love. I'm proud of all that the MTV2 team has contributed to its creative and ratings successes. They are leaving behind a great legacy and we are eternally grateful to them.

There has never been a more passionate team than those at MTV World. Unfortunately, the premium distribution model proved more challenging than we anticipated in this competitive environment and we've made the incredibly difficult decision to cease operations of the MTV World channels and says goodbye to these dedicated professionals. Creating programming for multi-cultural youth remains a priority for us and are looking for ways to integrate the MTV Desi, Chi and K brands online and on our other screens.

The responsibilities formerly handled by the Music Marketing and Program Promotions departments will be absorbed by a newly streamlined marketing area that consists of the on-air promotions, off and on-air design and online marketing teams. We're still committed to many of the initiatives this group has built and getting our message to the audience is more important than ever. I know that under the current creative leadership, the department will find new ways to connect with our audience.

We also made the tough decision to streamline our production process as well as personnel in our studio. TRL will air as always - and we'll continue to bring our audience the celebs they love and special weeks like Spankin New and much more — but we will now operate more efficiently downstairs.

In this fast-paced news environment, it became essential to have the News & News Online teams operate as one team rather than two. This move will more effectively allow our award winning news teams to continue to break and report on music, culture, politics, and hard-hitting issues. Regrettably, the MTV Docs department has also been affected but I know that the incredibly strong team who remain will continue to bring engaging, hit documentary series to MTV.

Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to some longstanding colleagues in the Production Events department. The way in which we produce our big events has evolved over the years and this meant that we did not need a full-time production events team, but they will remain on through June to help us make the Movie Awards the fun, dynamic event it has always been.

Our Program Planning & Scheduling team has probably the hardest job of any media company in the industry given that we have so many screens on which we program content. As this department's job has evolved, we had to take a hard look at how we could operate here more efficiently. We will be working with the Program Planning & Scheduling team to prioritize and assist with this transition and ensure that viewers still get our content everywhere they want it - from MTV to MTV2 to mtvU to to mtv tr3s to mtv.com to MTV Mobile to VOD.

It's never easy to say goodbye to dedicated and talented people and I encourage you all to reach out and wish them the best in their future endeavors. They contributed so much to MTV and we're all lucky to have worked with them.

Despite the fact that we're making reductions in some areas, MTV has much more room to grow as a company and we need to ensure that we're investing in the areas that afford us the greatest capacity for future growth. So, we will be building resources against some other areas, such as linear programming, our interactive properties and some of our emerging and burgeoning networks like MTV tr3s and mtvU.

I know I couldn't have possibly answered everyone's questions in one email, and please know I am looking to schedule some time for all of us to get together as an organization soon, but in the meantime, I hope this helped to address and clarify some of the buzz in the hallways, on the web and in the papers. Should you have immediate issues or questions, always know you can also reach out to your managers as well.

Change is never easy, and I thank you for your patience, kindness and compassion during this time. I need your creativity, passion and innovation more than ever as we embark on the next great era for MTV, representing and reflecting young people. Somewhere, someone is meeting MTV for the first time. Together, let's redefine what they'll see.

Christina

Earlier: Gawker's Coverage of MTV Firings

It's not just "permalance" getting laid off. It's also SVPs and EVPs that have been here for over 10 years!! Have families, kids, etc.
Everyone is getting in elevators asking around "are you ok?" "are you cut?" It's not a pretty picture here...

Earlier: Entire Vh1 Classics Department Axed