Over at Romensko, there’s a funny little story about the Cincinnati Enquirer literally stopping the presses last weekend (how long before that phrase becomes obsolete?) when staffers noticed the word “fuck” could been seen in a photo about a a LGBT-rights rally.
Above the headline” Gay Rights Group: Plan is Flawed,” in the Inquirer‘s April 15 edition is an image of dozens of marchers bearing signs like “Honk for Equality” and “Gay or Straight, Black or White, Marriage Is A Civil Right.” On the right, a woman is carrying a placard that reads “I Fuck Her,” with an arrow pointing to another woman. Gasp!
The blog reports that thousands of Sunday papers were destroyed when the error was noticed but that thousands more got into the hands of readers. We can only hope they had their smelling salts handy.
Calling the image “completely inappropriate on many levels,” editor Carolyn Washburn issued an apology, saying “I deeply apologize and am working this morning to understand why this photo was chosen in the first place and why it was not caught sooner.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Not sure what the “many” levels of inappropriateness are, but the way we see it, this could be print media’s saving grace. Kids everywhere will be scouring the newspaper looking for dirty words and the occasional nipple.
They might even learn about current events.
Dave
I will never understand adult humans who get worked up over profanity.
I mean, the belief that there are certain sounds which can come out of your mouth, the mere utterance of which has a moral effect on the world at large, is essentially the same as believing in magic.
Why we have a federal agency that spends so much of its time making sure nobody says naughty words, but not one that devotes its efforts to making sure nobody steps on cracks or walks under ladders, is beyond me.
Xerxes
The woman carrying the sign got her jollies, but if she wanted to have a positive impact on gay rights, she should have not been so crude. It will be a long time before a paper in Cincinnati carries a photo or maybe even an article about gay rights again. That’s just the way it is, and the sign carrier should have known better.
xamthor
1st amendment at it’s finest.
the editors COULD have blurred it out if they were worried about offending their readers….
Olive Austin
@xamthor — This has nothing to do with the first amendment, which prohibits GOVERNMENT control of the press. No government involvement here whatsoever. Please read your constitution.
cam
@Olive Austin:
THANK YOU!
Kev C
They’re still printing news on paper? Welcome to 1885.
darkmoonman`
When are people in the USA going to grow up and stop acting like first grade children when they encounter a bit of profanity?
Mcflyer54
Good old Cincinnati. The only city in Ohio that hasn’t yet entered the 21st century. This would have gone virtually unnoticed had the not drawn attention to it.
Mcflyer54
@Xerxes: It’s highly unlikely that the “girl” carrying the sign really cares about the Cincinnati Enquirer which is as it should be. But to be honest she did it to get attention and now, with the help of the Enquirer that is exactly what happened.
Chuck
I grew up in Cincinnati and the Enquirer is a shell of its former self. Gannett has pretty much outsourced everything and their opinion pieces are now nothing more than reprints of standard right wing national columns. Last time I read it, just your standard Krauthammer, George Will, and some Herititage Foundation swill cut and pasted. Shame, because they used to be a real paper.
Anyway, with the city’s only paper being nothing more than right wing propaganda, thus joining the predecessor to FoxNews, WLW, spewing hate 27/7, one can begin to appreciate how such virulent homophobic douch nozzles like John Boehner, Mitch McConnel, Rob Portman, Jean Schmidt, and Mike Pence all come out of that area. It’s pathetic.