MORE AT THE SOURCE: Meanwhile, the writer...

MORE AT THE SOURCE: Meanwhile, the writer of the negative Public Enemy review, James Bernard, is also at war with the Source staff and has been suspended by publisher David Mays. The action comes after Bernard, the magazine’s executive editor and part owner, publicly accused Mays of having a financial stake in a rap group he insisted on featuring in the magazine. Bernard has also filed a document in a New York City court alleging that members of that group physically harassed him.

Mays says he has no connection besides friendship with the group, the Almighty RSO, and that he assigned a free-lance writer to do a story on the group after Bernard refused.

Bernard did not return phone calls from Pop Eye, but he recently faxed a letter carrying his charges to more than 500 people in the press and record industry

Mays, who praises Bernard for his contributions to the Source, says the matter is actually the culmination of “a longstanding dispute over the direction of the magazine.”

Says Mays, “I’ve had very serious problems with some of the things that have gone in the magazine,” including the PE review. “Over the past year the Source has crossed the line between honest criticism and personal attacks.”