San Diego talk-radio host Mark Larson blogs on a typical newspaper fumble on religious sensitivities with the San Diego Union-Tribune. They ran an advertisement for the "GLAAD-Award-Winning Masterpiece" play called "Southern Baptist Sissies" (starring Delta Burke!) The ad features a photo of a man in some kind of skimpy black underwear with his arms outstretched in front of a cross. Might that offend a few Christians? The Union-Tribune issued a statement that they would review the decision to accept the ad. Here's the latest from Larson:
After the flap raised by reader complaints (and ours) over the U-T's publication of the ad for "Southern Baptist Sissies", the paper has yet to print any note about the issue. The ad ran again yesterday (U-T statement on Friday--one not published in the paper--said it was already done in an earlier press run) and I haven't been able to find any article apologizing for offending many in the Christian community. This is a far cry from the continuous coverage they gave the "to print or not to print" debate over the Muslim cartoons earlier this year. Editor Karin Winner was quoted regarding the U-T's sensitivity, concern and blah blah blah. Here's a trip down Memory Lane.
Winner said:
“The issue of the cartoons brings into focus one of the most difficult decisions that editors have to make. Is our primary responsibility to print everything, regardless of who may be offended, or to show restraint and invite criticism from those who would accuse us of hiding the truth?” She said her concern for the sensibilities of the local Muslim community “overrides the news value of publishing any of the cartoons.”
(A little disclosure: I appear weekly on Mark's fine show on KOGO radio.)
