It’s somewhat in the nature of inside baseball, but Roger L. Simon is announcing his retirement, come February 14 of this year, as CEO of Pajamas Media. Nothing will change at PJ to the outside eye, although it will change for Roger, who’s going to devote himself more to his original pursuits of writing screenplays and novels.
I wish him the best. His resignation takes me back in happy memory to the blogophere’s heady beginnings and heyday, and my own entry into it, when Roger’s blog was instrumental in giving me the notion that there were a lot of political changers out there, left to right (Roger himself is a mega-changer), who were eager to talk about this strange transformation they’d undergone. If not for participating in those discussions in the comments section of Roger’s original blog, I probably never would have become a blogger myself.
Then there were the exciting blogger get-togethers that PJ and Roger hosted way back in 2005 and 2006. It was incredible fun to meet so many other bloggers, and to experience firsthand how much bloggers can talk. Get a hundred of them together in a room and the din is almost deafening. If you want to say something, don’t wait your turn or it will never come.
So I want to give a heartfelt thanks to Roger for all of that and more, and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
February 7th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
This takes me back to the good old days, when I discovered Roger’s blog and his fedora, and we all had high hopes, which Roger surely helped realize in his amazing and major creation of PJM.
All the same, I am startled by his one-week notice, and fret about the implications thereof.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
[...] SOME THOUGHTS ON ROGER SIMON’S DEPARTURE FROM ROGER KIMBALL, STEPHEN GREEN, AND NEO-NEOCON. [...]
February 7th, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Wow, it doesn’t seem that long ago since PJ Media launched. I still remember the back and forth due to all the “PJ vs Pajama” naming angst. They provide a good product.
Roger Simon is a very nice man; he wouldn’t remember it, but during the pre-PJ days he took the time to help me ( via email) select a font for our firm’s little web site. Very nice, considering that I was a total stranger.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:51 pm
All the same, I am startled by his one-week notice, and fret about the implications thereof.
Seems to me that many conservatives have gone into a post-election funk, asking existential questions of themselves, and contemplating the frustrations of enduring the next 4 years. I know I am. So, in that context, maybe he’s just doing something in the nature of cocooning, going back to his basic roots.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:40 pm
I’m another who’s been hanging with Roger since the early days of his first blog (which is where I first met Neo-Neo although back then I commented under my real name). It’s been a great ride and he and the others at PJ Media have built a fine product.
We conservatives have talked a great deal lately about the need for having a much bigger presence in media, education and entertainment. Roger’s done his bit for conservative media and now will help fill the need for conservatives in entertainment. If you’ve seen A Better Life which was based on his story, you know we need more films like it (if you haven’t seen it, do). I’m sure they’ll miss him in the PJ board room but I, for one, am glad he’s returning to his first love (especially since he’s not abandoning us entirely). I look forward to the fruit of his labors.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:02 pm
Roger has built up a very competent crew. I think they will be able to continue, and I’m pretty sure Roger will be around to offer advise when they need it.
Since we now need some cultural changes to turn this country around, I am looking at Roger’s input in this area.
February 7th, 2013 at 5:47 pm
Good man. I wish him well, though I understand he’ll continue to write for PJ.