A Rough New Start for The Real Paper

Martin Linsky, The Real Paper's new editor, had a bottle of California champagne on his cluttered desk yesterday afternoon, but he hadn't yet opened it--maybe because he's had little time for celebration this week, or little reason.

It's been a hectic week for Linsky. Since Tuesday, when he took over from former editor David Gelber, Linsky has been "just trying to get on top of things," he said--which means he has been meeting with staff members, assigning articles, plowing through about 75 job requests and, in two cases, firing people.

One of the fired staff members, listings editor Paula Childs, accused Linsky of sacking her because of a false rumor that she was trying to form a union. Linsky said that was not his reason, that he fired Childs because "it was the best for everybody concerned."

Linsky also fired receptionist Martha Sturgeon, apparently to replace her with someone he knew and could work with. Sturgeon could not be reached for comment yesterday.

And several Real Paper staff members said yesterday that Linsky would have fired Craig Unger '71, who quit this week, saying he questions "whether Linsky is in touch with the Real Paper's constituency."

Childs and Unger had been with The Real Paper since it began in Auguest 1972 as a staff-owned, collectively-managed paper. Staff members said yesterday that Childs and Unger were militantly against selling the paper to Linsky's friend Ralph Fine, a Boston lawyer.

Linsky is a moderate Republican and frequent candidate for public office who has had no newspaper editing experience. He said yesterday that he plans no more firings for now, and most Real Paper staff members, who have been assured of at least 45 days work, seem willing to give their novice boss a fair chance.

"I don't know whether Linsky will be good or not," one of them said yesterday. "We'll just have to find out."

The first Linsky-edited issue will appear May 25. Linsky declined yesterday to reveal what it would contain, but he said people should not expect dramatic editorial changes right away.