I’m sure I said it here before, but to say the washington city paper had an influence on me is an understatement. I was still in college when I started working at city paper, which was one of three publications I really wanted to work for at the time, and I was chuffed to bits to work there, even if I started on the bottom rung of the ladder. when I left 3+ years later, I had a bunch of friends for life in d.c., better musical taste, a ton of experience learning quark xpress among other silly things, a big pile of clips, and enough confidence to get out into the job market and find a job. what I didn’t realize at the time was just how good we had it there in those days (1988-92 for me). it was just a fine place to work, and it has made me happy over the years that I can still pop in to their current office (where I never actually worked, but I did use for chickfactor production marathon weekends when pam was working there) and run into any number of people I know. this news does not make me happy: washington city paper’s owner has filed for bankruptcy. but I guess there’s no stopping the downfall of the newspaper, even those that are free and alternative. a real shame.