<em>Politico</em> Reporter Resigns, Writes Goodbye Note With Parting Shots

Quite a bit of rumbling going on in Rosslyn, Va. today over Dave Catanese's resignation from Politico. Check out his goodbye note from New Year's Eve that is laced with praise and parting shots for some of his colleagues and superiors. Earlier in 2012, Catanese took a self-imposed introspective breather after getting himself into hot water on Twitter when he attempted to defend Rep. Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" gaffe. We wrote to ask where he's going. So far, no response. See the veiled note... Catanese: A few notes of thanks as I wrap up my final day at Politico: First and foremost, thanks to Charlie Mahtesian for plucking me out of the fields of southwest Missouri and giving me my shot in the big leagues in an entirely different medium. While his edits could be exhausting, they were always done with the best intentions and I became a better writer and a smarter reporter because of his guidance. Thanks to Mike Zapler for offering a steady hand on the ship when things got chaotic. His ability to sharpen a sentence quickly and move copy to the homepage swiftly was always appreciated, especially when on the road. It's nice to see one of the good guys receive a well-deserved promotion. Finally, thanks to JMart for being extremely generous with sources, introductions and even scoops -- particularly at the beginning of my time here. Here's to a D.C. big dog that's also a true team player. Best, Dave UPDATE: The way the letter is being translated..."You're a pal and you're a pal. Everyone else is an asshole." Rumblings are that management expected more reporters to leave for other pastures after the election. Not many opted to go, so the main site is overstaffed. UPDATE #2: Catanese takes issue with our interpretation of his letter as well as that of some of his newsroom colleagues. He writes into FishbowlDC, "How you've managed to interpret my words of genuine thanks to the colleagues I worked most closely with as 'veiled parting shots' is confounding. There are tons of talented people at Politico and many of them are friends. Your translation is simply off the mark. And I'm pretty certain whoever led you to believe that hasn't spoken to me." As for what he'll do next, Catanese said, "I'm just taking some time to explore options and figure out what I really want to do next." UPDATE #3: After a bit more discussion on the matter, he added, "It's just an insane assumption. Alex Isenstadt is one of my closest friends in the city. Should he feel dissed because I didn't personally name check him in my farewell leaving a job? If I thanked no one at all, would that be seen as an even bigger slight? It's just silly."

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Politico Reporter Resigns, Writes Goodbye Note With Parting Shots

Betsy Rothstein

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Betsy Rothstein