Erik Wemple

Erik Wemple is an American journalist who works as a columnist and media critic at The Washington Post. He was formerly the editor of the alternative weekly Washington City Paper.

Early life[]

Wemple was raised in Niskayuna, New York,^[1] and attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, graduating in 1986.^[2] In 1986-87 Wemple taught and coached sports at Trinity Pawling School, in Pawling, New York.^{[citation needed]}

Career[]

Wemple began contributing articles to the Washington City Paper in the late 1990s. From January 1999 to November 2000, Wemple wrote the paper's political column, "Loose Lips", before becoming editor.^[3] Previously, he was Washington correspondent for Inside.com and CableWorld magazine.^[3]

In 2004, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies awarded Wemple and Josh Levin an Alternative Newsweekly Award for their article "Off Target", published in Washington City Paper.^[4]

In June 2006, Wemple accepted the editor-in-chief position at The Village Voice. A month later, he announced he would not assume the position, stating that "the paper's ownership and I have failed to come to terms in our many discussions about moving forward, particularly with respect to newsroom management."^[3][5]

In February 2010, Wemple informed the staff of the Washington City Paper that he was leaving to be the new editor of TBD.com.^[6]

In 2013, J. K. Trotter of Gawker Media declared Wemple a "hero", and that "like a deeply embedded anthropologist, Wemple scours Washington media (and, not infrequently, their New York counterparts) for hypocrisy, excess, and corruption. He's the anti-Mike Allen, frequently piercing the Politico's madman's self-inflating bubble of hype at the moment it threatens to blot out the sun."^[7]

Personal life[]

Wemple is married to Stephanie Mencimer, who, as of 2018, worked as a staff reporter in the Washington office of Mother Jones.^[8]

Notes[]

External links[]

• Erik Wemple at The Washington Post