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'TIME'S UP NEW YORK'

By KEITH J. KELLY

MEDIA INK

THE Native Americans are mad, and a chief is gone.

Officially, the two have nothing to do with each other.

At Time Out New York yesterday, Editor-in-Chief Joe Angio resigned. He
cited the demands of marketing his indie film about Melvin Van Peebles, the
man behind the 1971 flick "Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song," who is
considered the father of blaxploitation films.

Coincidentally, his resignation comes only days after the weekly magazine
was hit with an avalanche of criticism from Native Americans over its
headline choice on feature flick "The New World" about princess Pocahontas,
starring Q'Orianka Kilcher and Colin Farrell.

The Native Americans apparently did not like the headline "Squaw talent" on
the favorable review that ran in last week's year-end issue of TONY.

More than 100 angry e-mails streamed into the mag, claiming the term
"squaw" is derogatory and racist.

Time Out New York said it never knew — and is hastening to apologize.

The story by Stephen Garrett has been pulled from the Web site, and when it
returns it will be with a new headline and an apology, Time Out New York
President Alison Tocci tells Media Ink.

She also said an apology will run in the Jan. 5 print edition. Late
yesterday, when we attempted to log on to the story, all we got was: "The
requested file was not found on the server."

"It was completely innocent," said Tocci of the headline that inflamed the
Native Americans. "We had no idea it was offensive."

Once the story was removed from the Web site, the angry e-mails stopped,
Tocci said, adding that there were no canceled subscriptions. In fact, none
of the messages came from New York State.

"We were getting e-mails from Oklahoma, Michigan, Missouri — apparently we
got linked on some kind of list that goes to Native Americans," Tocci said.

Angio called the timing of the controversy and his resignation a "bizzare
convergence."

"I'm stepping down, but it has nothing to do with the 'squaw' controversy,"
said Angio yesterday.

He said his film, "How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy
It)," has been in the works almost from the moment he joined Time Out New
York in 1998.

He was named editor in 1999 and editor-in-chief in 2002. Earlier this year,
he took a leave of absence from the magazine to complete the film, which is
being shown at Film Forum as part of an upcoming festival that hits Jan.
20.

Elizabeth Barr, TONY managing editor, will serve as acting editor, while
Tocci begins the search for a replacement.

*

OK! magazine appears to be adding a few more downmarket scrappers to its
mix.

Lori Berger is apparently out as the West Coast celebrity wrangler and has
been replaced by new left coast editor David Thompson, who comes from the
downmarket tabloid Globe, published by American Media.

The Globe was derided by some for putting the name of Kobe Bryant's rape
accuser into the paper in 2003. (The accuser eventually sued and reached an
out-of-court settlement with the weekly's parent company, American Media.)

Thompson, in one of his first moves, has signed on another tabloid veteran,
Mary Ann Norbom, the on-again, off-again West Coast editor of Star
magazine.

OK!'s founders have been insisting that they are not going downmarket or
tabloid but are attempting to make their covers more "newsy."

Critics said that sales have been soft since the launch in October, despite
a $10 million TV and trade magazine ad campaign. But the company insists it
is making its promised rate base of 350,000 sold copies most weeks. Sarah
Ivens, the editor-in-chief, insisted that nothing is changing despite
adding the tabloid guns to its staff.

"These two people have been hired to work on news content in the West Coast
bureau," said Ivens. "And our positive tone and aspirational feature and
lifestyle content will not change."

keith.kelly@...