Posted on 09/12/2011 7:04:19 PM PDT by Borges
The Chicago Tribune has decided to pull the daily comic strip "Doonesbury" for the entire week from its newspapers and website. The controversy is over a week-long series of satirical material that makes fun of Sarah Palin, the failed Vice-Presidential candidate and the Alaskan Governor who quit her job after just over two years to become a conservative pundit & Tea Party icon.
Facing hefty amounts of criticism and charges of censorship, Chicago Tribune's Senior Vice-president and Editor Gerould W. Kern released a statement, which will be printed inside of tomorrow's newspaper. The statement reads:
"This week we are not publishing 'Doonesbury' comic strips because they do not meet our standards of fairness. We are substituting another strip instead.
The 'Doonesbury' strips refer to allegations purportedly contained in an as-yet-unreleased book about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The book is not yet available for verification or review by the Chicago Tribune.
To be sure, 'Doonesbury' is a satirical cartoon, but the remarks are serious enough that we cannot publish the strip without more information, context and a response from Palin."
This week, a fictional character in Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" comic strip is reading passages the forthcoming biography "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin" by Joe McGinniss, and then making a joke about what he read. (Readers of the strip can also see the passages the character reads.) This was done with Joe McGinniss's full approval and cooperation. While the biography is said to not paint Palin in an overly flattering light, the "Doonesbury" strip is doing what it always has done, which is to poke fun at political figures and make social commentary, often with a politically liberal slant.
Despite some outraged readers claim, what the Chicago Tribune is not truly censoring the comic strip, as it is free to make decisions on what it will and will not publish. If the editorial staff feels something is inappropriate for its newspaper or readers, the First Amendment guarantees the paper its right to not publish that potentially upsetting piece.
Where this becomes a bit more hazy is in Kern's statement that they cannot verify the words in the fictional comic strip, something that the Tribune has seemingly never done before with their published comic strips. It has not previously researched comic strip storylines to ensure "Popeye," "Beetle Bailey," or "Funky Winkerbean" were being honest with their fictionalized words. Though Doonesbury and many other comics have made fun of public figures before, the Chicago Tribune has never sought out a rebuttal for the jokes from those public figures.
The Chicago Tribune's own editorial cartoonists, including their chief editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis, make fun of political & public figures almost daily, often with a politically conservative slant.
"Doonesbury" appears in nearly 1500 newspapers in the United States and internationally. The Chicago Tribune is the only newspaper to have an issue with this week's cartoons. For this week, the Chicago Tribune is replacing the seemingly-controversial "Doonesbury" with the family-friendly "Thatababy" comic strip about young parents and their precocious infant.
Fans of Doonesbury can still easily see the comic strip online this week, including at Doonesbury.com.
There has been no public comment on the actions of the Chicago Tribune from "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau or the author of "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin," Joe McGinniss. In the past, Trudeau tends to get his revenge against critics within his comic strip a few weeks later.
” Something about the beak on that penguin.”
Opus
zzzzzzzzzzz...... Dumbberry is BORING!
You never hear or read about Geraldine Ferraro at all... She vanished from the national consciousness within a week after the 1984 election. She is a timid little mouse next to the force of Nature that is Sarah Palin.
What “facts” are those? Please elaborate.
>”Regardless of circumstance”<? What does that mean?
Are we supposed to get used to Liberals who bend the truth and lie outright to damage our Candidates? Do we just sit there and not respond with the truth about the circumstances in defense of our Candidates?
Please clarify your opinion. I'm sure I am not the only one here who feels a bit confused by your original statement.
Yo, she also machine-guns animals from helicopters and floods pristine wilderness areas with oil. ..................................................... Don’t forget, having coffee in the morning at her doorstep with her neighbors, a Russian Tank Division.
I remember extremely pro-American cartoons everyday on the front page of the Chicago Tribune every day in the fifties. I was just a kid, but I remember their Uncle Sam and the forces of evil communism. I wish I could see some of those again.
The last funny Doonesbury comic that I remember was when Carter was President. The White House lawn was filled with Russian soldier and tanks. Carter was saying “Tell the Soviets there will be no START III until they get the tanks off the lawn.”
It isn't a “liberal” slant. It is a **communist** slant. These guys are all riding the same train. Destination: One World Communism.
I suppose Doonebury was ‘edgy’ at some point. But, it’s like Saturday Night Live, now. I don’t know why they bother.
These are just two of the endless examples of the failure of the MSM to be fair and objective.
He had some decent humor before he took that year long vacation. When he came back I tried to read his stuff and it was terrible.
Is that we FR get's its mods from?
maybe the mods can correct all the typos in that post of mine...
Did they mention the man who sealed his records in his first executive order? How about that guy who unsealed his opponent’s divorce records to smear him in IL?
No mention, eh?
I haven’t followed Trudeau closely enough to know at what point he took a year off. Breathed took a long break, and came back a liberal. It was quite a shock.
Our local paper runs the Doonesbury strip.... but only in the editorial pages!
The question should be, “Does anyone read the Chi Trib?”
Maybe this is just a stunt to garner more readers
i quit reading that rag when they endorsed obummer.
About time that all news organizations pull the plug on this garbage!
Yes, Jane Pauley was hot so many years ago, and Trudeau has been an A-Hole for the past forty years, but now it’s time for him to retire his pen - forever.
Enjoy life with Jane, hang up the hateful jockstrap!
Yeah, just like Rick Perry quit his job as Governor of Texas to run for President. While he's out debating and fundraising and campaigning he sure ain't Governoring. Running for Prez is a 48-hour-a-day job. What is with these Governors, fer cryin' out loud?
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