In his first writing venture as Editorial and Opinion Editor at the Los Angeles Times, Michael Kinsley came up against a tough editor: himself. He confirms to L.A. Observed via email that his first attempted editorial — on the decapitation murder of screenwriter Robert Lees — was spiked. His fellow editorial writers urged him to rethink the piece, but the call was his to make, Kinsley writes:

Yes, it's true. I wrote the editorial then killed it myself. It was an attempt at ironic reflection on the Hollywood decapitation. My editorial page colleagues convinced me it was inappropriate as an editorial. I agonized quite a bit, although looking back the next day, it was a clear case of "what on earth was I thinking?"

Before deciding, Kinsley showed the piece to Editor John Carroll, who also advised against running it.

Previously on L.A. Observed: Reading Kinsley