The Chron has dropped columnist Robert Scheer and his space will be filled by New York Times columnists Paul Krugman, David Brooks and Thomas Friedman.

Editorial Page Editor John Diaz told the SF Weekly that he dropped Scheer because “we just wanted to work more columnists into the mix.” Diaz said the decision to drop Scheer was his alone and that it wasn’t related to any specific column he had written.

Scheer said Diaz told him that his columns had grown predictable and that nobody was reading them. Scheer notes that a column criticizing Israel’s tactics in Gaza drew 565 comments and 80 e-mails. Scheer said he wonders if too many people were reading his columns — and that Diaz was pressured into firing him.

Despite being dropped by the Chron, Scheer will continue to write his syndicated column. He’s also a lecturer at USC’s Annenberg School of Communications and the editor of truthdig.com. (Photo credit: SF Weekly)