Loose Lips is a politics column published in the ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focu ...

,'' an alternative weekly newspaper serving the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, metropolitan area. It is billed as "The definitive guide to hometown politics in the nation's capital."

History

In 1983, when Ken Cummins started writing it, "Loose Lips" began as a political gossip column, encompassing both local and national politics. Over the next decade, the format eventually became entirely devoted to

, local politics, focusing on intrigue in the mayor's office, the D.C. Council, and the city bureaucracy. In January 1999, Cummins retired; contributing editor

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, and a ...

replaced him. In November 2000, Wemple left the post to become senior editor and was replaced by Jonetta Rose Barras, a longtime contributor to the paper. Barras resigned from the paper on August 13, 2001, and

Elissa Silverman Elissa Silverman is an American politician and reporter from Washington, D.C., the United States capital. She has served as an independent at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia since January 2, 2015. Before 2014, she was a ...

held the position from January 2002 until December 2004, when her employment with the newspaper was terminated."Taking Note ... : Quieted Lips"
''The Common Denominator'', January 24, 2005, accessed August 29, 2007. Former WAMU-FM reporter James Jones wrote the column from March 2005 through June 21, 2007, when he posted his "last column" as "Loose Lips" and stated that a successor to him would be appointed soon.Jones, Jones.
"LL Goes Astray: Recounting a Column's Greatest Misses"
''

'', June 20, 2007, accessed August 29, 2007. Mike DeBonis, formerly ''City Papers senior editor, was named the sixth Loose Lips columnist in July 2007. His first column appeared that September.Austermuhle, Martin.
"City Paper Chooses New Loose Lips Columnist"
, '' DCist'', July 16, 2007, accessed August 31, 2007. Mike DeBonis left the position to join ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''.

2010-present

In 2010, Alan Suderman became the seventh Loose Lips, after leaving a position as a ''Washington Examiner'' reporter. In 2013, Suderman left to work for the

Center for Public Integrity The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit investigative journalism organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to ...

. The next Loose Lips, Will Sommer, was previously a City Desk writer for the Washington City Paper. Veteran journalist and former

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

reporter Jeffrey Anderson wrote the column starting in 2016. Andrew Giambrone took over the column in 2018 for a brief period. A former reporter for the Pacific Northwest Inlander, Mitch Ryals, started writing for Loose Lips in October 2018.

Conventions

"Loose Lips" is typically 1,200 to 2,000 words long. The column is written in the third person; the columnist refers to himself or herself as "LL." From its inception until Barras wrote the column, then again until October 2003, the column was unsigned, lending the a column a gossipy, "hush-hush" feel. Since then, the writer of "Loose Lips" provides a

byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''Reader's ...

. Cummins coined the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

"Mayor-for-Life" for former D.C. mayor

Marion Barry Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as the second and fourth mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served ...

. Until Barry returned to the D.C. Council in 2005, "LL" columns have almost always referred to him as "Mayor-for-Life Marion S. Barry Jr." Barry's third wife, Cora Masters Barry, received a similar treatment: "Cora Masters Lady MacBarry." The first occurrence of the name of each person mentioned in the column appears in bold face.

Notes

{{Reflist, 2

External links

"Loose Lips"
Index page. Includes hyperlinks to previous columns in "Recent Loose Lips" and features last column posted by James Jones. June 20, 2007. Accessed August 29, 2007. Columns (periodical)