NEW AMERCIAN CITIZEN - HITCHENS - LASHES OUT AT FIFTH ESTATE

WWD:

At a Monday lunch sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors, Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens did what everyone seemed to expect, even hope, he would do: He insulted everyone in the room — many of whom made him a finalist for their Ellie award this year, some of whom dole out his paychecks.

... Onstage interviewer and Slate editor in chief Jacob Weisberg read selections from the Ellie-nominated profile of Hitchens in The New Yorker, then asked him how his support of the Iraq war affected his relationship with Vanity Fair editor in chief Graydon Carter, a vocal opponent of it. "The fact that most of my comrades in the media can't get [Iraq] right is not my fault," Hitchens said. A lone audience member — perhaps two — clapped.

... Hitchens later glared out into the audience of editors and said, "Not one of you, I think, printed the Danish cartoon. Shame on all of you…. Nobody lived up to the elementary responsibility of journalism." ... Hitchens said, "We all make a comfortable living out of the First Amendment, and give ourselves prizes every year for doing it. Well, you have to pay the First Amendment back [by fighting for it]….

The British-born Hitchens also announced proudly that he had recently become an American citizen, saying, "I've been waiting to say this for weeks: 'my fellow Americans.'"

WE ARE HONORED HE IS A CITIZEN!