As NB's Ken Shepherd wrote yesterday (Tue. 9/11/07, here), MSNBC reported on some harsh and offensive remarks spewed from comedienne Kathy Griffin during an acceptance speech set to air on an awards show. (Read the story here.) Yet when they reported the story, MSNBC left out the most inflammatory words that Griffin voiced. And if you picked up today's Los Angeles Times (Wed. 9/12/07), the paper did the exact same thing.
The Times quoted the exact same words that MSNBC did. And like MSNBC, they made no reference to Griffin's most offensive words of her speech: "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."
In their short "Quick Take" piece, the Times also quoted Dr. Bill Donahue of the Catholic League, who said Griffin's remarks were a "vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech." But without citing Griffin's most offensive words, Donahue's reaction seems somewhat "over the top." Did the Times set out to make Dr. Donahue look bad?
To see an image of the article, click here.
NOTE: The Times piece is tagged, "From the Associated Press." This article appears to be the one that the Times used in writing its piece. Wrote the AP:
In her speech, Griffin said that "a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."
She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, "This award is my god now!"
As you can see, the AP also left out the "Suck it, Jesus" crack. They simply referred to it as an "off-color remark about Christ." The Times didn't even do that.
