Sunday, July 15, 2007

The H-S on Marlette

I've been told that among those in attendance at Doug Marlette's memorial service (post below) was Herald-Sun editor Bob Ashley.

The H-S covered the service in an unusual fashion: though Marlette had penned several cartoons on the lacrosse case, had specifically taken on the Group of 88, and had his work on the Group referenced by Pat Conroy (who the H-S describes as Marlette's "best friend"), Conroy's remarks about the Group passed unmentioned in the H-S.

The omission confirmed yet again the approach of Ashley's editorship: "We conceal, you decide." John in Carolina has an excellent post this morning on how Ashley's bias has contributed to the circulation decline of the H-S.

14 comments:

Gary Packwood said...

Anyone or any group have funds available to run those three cartoons in the H-S this coming week as a Hat Tip to Marlette?
::
GP

Anonymous said...

Rather than pay any money to the Paducah, Kentucky-based Paxton Media, which owns the paper and pays Ashley's salary, download and print out a couple of the Marlette cartoons on a decent home printer. Quote Conroy from the funeral. Put this on a one-page flyer and hire a couple of students to pass them out in front of the H-S building and in front of the courthouse.

Anonymous said...

KC, I do (as we say here in North Carolina, right before we stick a knife in yo'r heart) love you to death -- but, the Herald Sun in fact ran this quote, NOT (!!!!) mentioned in the News & Observer:

"[Paul Conroy] said that, in memory of his friend, he would title his next novel 'Bring me the Head of Alan Gurganus.'"

Whoah. Great quote! Again, NOT in the N&O.

In this instance, I would have to say that the H-S management placed its fondness for homeboy Dougie, and for Doug's true voice, above the H-S usual political boobery. And I happily give the H-S credit, on such rare occasions when they are demonstrably right.

The H-S gave due credit to a cartoonist's right to attack everything a newspaper stands for, and right now I have to stand with the H-S. Congrats to the H-S, this time around, and certainly to Dougie.

Anonymous said...

The News & Observer perhaps omitted the "head of Allan Gurganus" quote because they embraced his hyperbolic diatribes full-throttle when this Hoax began.

I am disappointed that they chose not to include such a provocative comment by Conroy along with coverage of Marlette's funeral.

Debrah

kcjohnson9 said...

To the 7.06:

While the N&O didn't include that quote, the article certainly mentioned the item: "Conroy lambasted Gurganus and other Hillsborough writers for their attacks on Marlette's work."

The H-S article didn't even mention Conroy's reference to the Group of 88--a reference all the more newsworthy for the H-S, of course, because the event was in Durham in the last year, and because Marlette had run several cartoons on the issue.

Anonymous said...

(from 7:06)

You're entirely correct, KC. I was just doing a "when they're right, they're right" moment-- emphasis on MOMENT.

mac said...

OK, joke time -(if KC doesn't delete it.)

What do the Starship Enterprise and toilet paper have in common?

Answer: they both circle Gurganus
in search of Klingons.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn says:

"We conceal, you decide."

Congratulations, Hurled-Scum! You finally beat the motto of the NY Times: "All the news that (we decide without the slightest attention to facts) is fit to print."

Anonymous said...

Oh "mac"!''

You're just a treasure trove of comical delights.

I never gave it a thought before; however, given Gurganus' lifestyle....comprised of the ins and outs of such a life journey.....

.....his last name is certainly a precarious one.

:>)

Debrah

mac said...

Hurled Scum reminds me of the British Official Secrets Act,
which was sometimes ("sometimes?")
used to suppress legitimate
criticism of the government.

The Scum would love to see prurience
take the spotlight, relieving them
of having to report the real disasters befalling their
beloved city.

"Give us dirty laundry?"

Obviously, from the decline of their readership,
that isn't what the readers are asking for:
they want news, and news reported fairly.

The Scum reported the Lacrosse case
as if it were a "scandal," not a hoax
perpetrated by terrible men and women.

You might notice that the Brits
do a fine job dealing with scandals -
(if "fine" is how you might describe over-attended issues) -
their papers spend much more time on gossip about the
Royals than they do real news...
Hey, wait a minute! Paris Hilton...!

That's MSM: that's part of the reason why there's a decline in readership;
the Hurled Scum is merely the first pass of the paper
before it's flushed.

mac said...

Debrah,
Oh, you're unmerciful!
But bless your little heart,
anyway: "ins and outs?"

That surely isn't a reference to
ups and downs, or the umbilicus.

But as for the umbilicus:
National Lampoon once satirized David Eisenhower,
suggesting that he thought a Naval Destroyer
was a hoola hoop with a nail in it!

Anonymous said...

Carolyn says:

KC has linked the Hurled-Scum article on Marlette's funeral. However, H-S wants to inflate its circulation by requiring you to first register. To avoid that, please use the web site below:

http://www.bugmenot.com/

Just type in 'www.heraldsun.com' in the box at the top and voila! the site gives you an old username and password to log on with.

Anonymous said...

You guys are complaining? Try being homosexual, and a NYC native, and having to go through the embarrassment of Gurganus types, and also having them move to your hometown so they can think they're now MORE elite. When all they are are silly non-thinking hick liars.

Anonymous said...

The entire case was a scandel and not a hoax or conspiracy.