Panic At Random House
The Post's Keith Kelly reports on how the literati at Random House are reacting to their new, German technocrat overlord: with abject terror. "People are panicking and saying it couldn't be worse... On the face of it, it looks like the guy is a complete production bean counter. It doesn't look hopeful that he'll share the romantic idea of literature and publishing." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal elicited this tart quote from Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski on the departure of the previous Random House chief, Peter Olson, who recently recovered from a rough bout with pneumonia: "He wanted a new life, and we agreed." Cold.