New critic at NY Observer

Tom Scocca, senior editor of the Washington City Paper, is the new media critic at the New York Observer. He will write the Off the Record column in place of Sridhar Pappu, who has moved on to be a staff writer at Sports Illustrated. Dan Kennedy of the Boston Phoenix reports online at his MediaLog that Scocca is just the latest City Paper alum to opine on the media. Others include New York Times media reporter David Carr, NY Press founder Russ Smith and Slate's Jack Shafer.