Times-Picayune Lays Off Brett Anderson

As part of an extensive round of layoffs in anticipation of ending daily distribution in the fall, The Times-Picayune in New Orleans laid off their chief restaurant critic, and one of the most esteemed food writers in the country — Brett Anderson. 

The James Beard Award winner and recently selected member of the Nieman Foundation Fellows class of 2013, Anderson has received 12 awards from the Association of Food Journalists and countless other accolades. He has been a features writer and restaurant critic for the Times-Picayune since 2000. Before moving to New Orleans, Anderson helped create Washington City Paper's popular Young & Hungry column. 

Anderson tweeted a link early this morning to the music video for The Replacements' song "Goddam Job," which he followed up an hour later with another tweet saying "Guess I picked the right song". From there the tweets in response started rolling in. The New York Times' critic Pete Wells tweeted: "Very sorry the Times-Picayune ditched @BrettAndersonTP, superb restaurant critic and reporter. Nola will be quieter w/o his laugh." The Gurgling Cod tweeted: "So the Times-Pic is firing @BrettAndersonTP, their lead restaurant critic? Because restaurants are not important to New Orleans?"

News about the nature and scope of the layoffs at The Times-Picayune is still being released, check back for updates about the changes to the dining section.