Copyright © 1998 by the Boston Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved.

This Just In: Media

Barnicle's on-again, off-again op-ed is on again

By Dan Kennedy

As the Phoenix went to press, the Boston Globe was preparing to reverse itself and publish an op-ed piece by former metro columnist Mike Barnicle. The op-ed could run as early as Thursday. It's a remarkable turn of events, given that the column is reportedly similar to an earlier piece the Globe refused to run, even after Barnicle offered to pay $36,000 and publish it as a full-page ad.

Sources at the Globe were tight-lipped as to what led to the change of heart. But the paper's spokesman, Rick Gulla, essentially confirmed speculation that Barnicle and the Globe have been negotiating some sort of agreement over the final terms of his departure, although Gulla would not discuss the details. "There have been discussions," Gulla says. "An agreement has been reached. The agreement contains a lot of things that would remain confidential."

The timing strongly suggests that publication of the op-ed is part of the agreement, which may involve money as well. Although no one is talking numbers, the math points to many zeroes: a normal severance package would pay him one week's salary for every year of service. With a 25-year career and a salary that's reportedly in excess of $200,000, severance pay would amount to at least $100,000. And an "agreement" would presumably amount to a good deal more than that.

Editorial-page editor David Greenway says the decision was made to run the piece because the paper's other former metro columnist, Patricia Smith, was allowed to write a farewell following her forced resignation last June. "It seemed the right thing to do, to give him his last say," Greenway explains. However, Greenway replied with a "no comment" when asked whether publication of the column was related to any sort of severance package.

It will be interesting to see whether Barnicle is allowed to stick to the line he's taken in TV and radio interviews: that his 1995 column about kids with cancer, which was the official cause of his August 19 departure, wasn't a fabrication but rather a "parable" based on a true story he had heard, and in any case was his only transgression during an otherwise stellar career. The truth is that Barnicle's entire tenure at the Globe was marked by repeated charges of plagiarism, fabrication, and libel, none of which was ever adequately explained. Indeed, just several hours before Barnicle's departure, the Phoenix released an advance copy of an article showing he had plagiarized extensively in a 1986 column.

Neither Greenway nor Gulla would comment on the specifics of the op-ed, but Gulla says it's not quite the same piece that had been rejected earlier. "Mike has rewritten it, and it is acceptable to us," Gulla says. "We feel it has put closure on the situation."