AJC censors comics, movie ads
November 3, 2008 at 1:36 pm by Scott Henry in NewsWTF, AJC?
I’m not usually the one driving the anti-AJC bandwagon (that’s Sugg’s job), but over the weekend, the apparent cowardice of some unnamed editors over there had me steamed.
An AP story appearing in Saturday’s AJC describes how “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau – who must submit a week’s worth of comic strip at a time – is going out on a limb with cartoons “showing his characters reacting to an Obama victory.” If John McCain somehow ends up winning Tuesday’s election, Trudeau says, “I’ll be the one with the egg on my face.”
Still, the article says some newspaper editors are expressing discomfort with running the strip this week, quoting one who will wait until checking Election Day returns before deciding whether to run the Obama-related cartoons. But the article didn’t name any papers that had already pulled the plug on “Doonesbury.”
Well, we found one. Tacked on to the very end of the print version of the AP article is this sentence:
As for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it is giving “Doonesbury” a sabbatical next Monday through Saturday and will resume carrying the strip the following week.
No explanation; no rationale. Just a statement that the strip won’t be running in the AJC, cravenly couched behind the euphemism “sabbatical.” The paper is so gutless that, rather than make an effort to defend its decision, it seems to be hoping no one will notice.
The AJC – in an apparent attempt to protect certain readers from topicality – already separates “Doonesbury” from the page-and-a-half of mostly tepid, unfunny comics it runs on weekdays, pairing it with the right-leaning “Prickly City.”
The paper has gone to some extreme lengths to suck up to conservatives – not giving endorsements in the last City of Atlanta elections comes to mind, as does paying hack columnist Jim Wooten to print GOP talking points – but censoring comics strikes me as especially pathetic.
Here’s where you can keep up with the strip this week. (Full disclosure: I believe “Doonesbury” to be the greatest American comic strip of the last half-century. For an example of how skillfully Trudeau is able to stay on top of – and ahead of – the zeitgeist, check out this cartoon and keep in mind it was turned in a month before anyone had ever heard of “Joe the Plumber.”)
As a secondary outrage, I also noticed that the full name of a just-opened Hollywood film did not appear in the AJC’s movie ads. Yes, I’m talking about Zack and Miri Make a Porno. In the two-column print ad that ran in the AJC, the film’s title appeared only as Zack and Miri.
I’m not implying some prudish editor at the AJC took a digital X-acto to the ad. Rather, I’m guessing the Weinstein Company offered two versions of the ad – full title vs. self-censored – so that gutless lifestyle editors wouldn’t get their panties in a wad. The full-titled ad appears in the NYT.
It’s sad to think that the AJC could be so frightened of giving offense to its remaining customers that it would shy away from having the word “porno” appear in paid advertising.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I think your criticism is valid, but as someone who worked there, let me just make sure you understand…
NOTHING in the non-opinion sections of the paper can be seen as endorsing a candidate in the day of or before an election. That’s newspaper policy. Since it appears the entire strip series is about an Obama victory, that is probably why they scotched it.
This prevents reckless election day accusations like “Obama a Terrorist” or “McCain has early-stage Alzheimers” from appearing on the front page the day before or of an election.
THAT SAID — I’m not sure I agree with the call. But that’s probably the rationale.
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Did you check with Trudeau on your claim that he turned in the Joe the Plumber strip before Joe the Plumber became famous? I find that very hard to believe, and knowing that Trudeau has won several unique concessions from newspapers for his strip, I would put the chances of your assertion being correct somewhere near zero.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Actually, Vance, Trudeau says so on his website, thusly:
“The strip in question was written and put into production weeks before “Joe the Plumber” made his appearance on the national stage. The strip was about the insanity of putting ideology ahead of competence, and not about an inarguably essential profession, the choice of which in this instance was an unfortunate coincidence.”
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Amazing. OK, I stand corrected and will endorse your point about his prescience.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Now picked up on Romenesko:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=153446
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
huh huh he said ball….
and cock huh huh
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Another gutless newspaper clueless as to why their very business model is crashing as badly as a John McCain piloted jet or campaign.
One more reason no one outside of the ATL considers the AJC a real big city newspaper.
The only sabbatical that’s going to be taken isn’t by Doonsberry – it’s by the readers who used to check what used to a newspaper.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Scott,
Why call Wooten a hack? Or anyone for that matter? Your liberal bias and hatred is why no one takes you or your publication seriously.
In the community, you’re viewed as a little dog nipping at the heals of the big newspaper – who on a daily basis – out reports you, out hussles Creative Loafing and clearly out classes your approach to dealing with fellow journalists…if you’re even allowed to call yourself one. At least you have your blog. Scott, I’m disappointed…and no I don’t work for the AJC.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Scott, this was absolutely great. But, it’s not really much fun gunning for the AJC any longer. It’s left the playing field.
November 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
[...] This news, that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has pulled Doonesbury tomorrow (the strip presumes an Obama victory) without explanation, is disgusting. [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
[...] Blog Blasts AJC Decision I enjoyed this blog post blasting the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s decision not to run this week’s Doonesbury cartoon both [...]
November 10th, 2008 at 10:18 am
[...] AJC censors comics, movie ads By Scott [...]