Sharon Waxman at The Wrap wrote today:

Todd McCarthy, who has been writing at Daily Variety for 31 years, was fired on Monday along with two other critics, as the trade elected to cut costs and move to freelance reviews. The move came as a shock to the entertainment industry and fellow critics across the country (Roger Ebert tweeted that he was canceling his subscription to the trade), despite the reality that critics have been losing their jobs at major dailies across the country for some time. 

This is a shocker folks — Variety of all papers.  Waxman posts a Q&A with McCarthy at The Wrap.  It’s worth the read.