A headline that should shame everyone involved and which disgusts me...

I don't know if I am more disgusted with the headline or the comments. Did you read them? One person actually threw out the "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" line. WTF! I don't expect anyone in Arkansas to be a Rhodes Scholar (save Bill Clinton), but after reading those comments I am certain no one in Arkansas should be reproducing. Save the world from this kind of ignorance.

 

Being upset - even angry - is understood. But don't paint the whole state based on a ignorant headline and the posts of a few foolish lemmings.

 

Thank you.

 

Personally, I would have worked a reference to "Beat It" in the headline....

I keed, I keed...

 

I can just imagine the copy desk guy, or girl, brainstorming for hours on that one.
"Oh man, I got a Michael Jackson in the cops briefs. This is going to be awesome!"

He probably even shouted out his suggestions to other people on the desk with him to get reactions. And not one person who either heard him, or proofed the page, could tell him how distasteful it was??? Geez.

Also, I have to add its quite disturbing that there are people on this board not familiar with "Smooth Criminal." That makes me feel pretty damn old.

 

Especially since it was covered by Alien Ant Farm in 2001.

 

The paper has two people on the desk each night. Occasionally there is a third person on desk, but they just fired their universal editor and moved a kid with less than two years experience to managing editor. Rick Fahr is deploying to Iraq in January, so I'm not even sure if he's still there right now or if he's doing some training elsewhere.

Ijag's right; do. not. work. there. When I was there, it was my first print job and I was leaving what I thought was a really crappy job (in hindsight, not so bad) and it was a utopia for me...for about 3 months. The editors don't edit, everyone just had to reapply for their jobs a couple of weeks ago, and they're no longer a newspaper, but a 24-hour information center. Think Bluffton. That's the model they're moving to until Morris decides to sell them.

No heads will roll over this, even though they should. Someone may get yelled at, but no one will be fired.

 

The editor was unavailable for comment.

 

You mean the type of ignorance it takes to paint with a brush as wide as the one you just used?

Bigot.

 

Despicable. I hope they have the sense to apologize to their readers. How that passes through two or three sets of eyes and onto the street is amazing to me. Somebody should have been outraged.

 

No one is going to apologize to their readers. At least, I highly doubt they will. I don't think it will even be discussed in the eyes of the newsroom. Whoever wrote the headline will have a discussion with Morrissey and that will be that.

 

They didn't actually call him a criminal. In fact, they said he's "no smooth criminal," with "no" being the key word. So, while the inference might be that he is a criminal, any good lawyer would get out of that easily by saying, "we said he's 'NO' smooth criminal. We didn't say he 'IS' a smooth criminal!"