Remember that whole deal where the New York Post ran an editorial cartoon that made fun of both the killing of a berserk chimpanzee and the stimulus package and people inferred that the toon was comparing the president to a primate?
Yeah. I remember it too.
One thousand blogs and articles about WHY putting a black person anywhere near a primate is offensive later (and one “I’m sorry to everyone who was offended even though we think you’re idiots, especially YOU, Al Sharpton” non-apology from the staff at the Post), Rupert himself, the other prince of darkness who isn’t Bob Novak, has written his own apology for the toon.
Here it is, unedited.
As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me.
Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted.
Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you – without a doubt – that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such.
We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.
(Source: New York Post)
See? “Attuned!” “The sensitives of our community!” Jesus does save after all!
Murdoch, as you may or may not know, despite his personal conservative beliefs, is first and foremost a capitalist (and cool hunter) and in today’s “NEWSPAPERS ARE DEAD!” environment, Uncle Rupert really can’t afford this little NAACP/Al Sharpton/”Random Obama supporters hate me” thing keep spiraling. If for no reason other than the precious, precious ad revenue.
Because we all know how these protests work. First there’s the outrage. Then there’s the picketing. Then there’s the call for the boycott.
And then there’s the targeting of the advertisers. Those weak, scared, recession plagued advertisers.
And that’s where you get them. That’s where it hurts the most.
So Rupert’s sorry, ya’ll. Will you call off the attack dogs? The man is trying to run a half-ass, irresponsible tabloid here! What’s a little dead chimp joke between friends? He loves a little occasional race bait to gin up the revenue and publicity, but this is the sort of notoriety no one needs when Craig’s List is causing you to hemorrhage revenue.
I’m not planing on paying for The Post anytime soon. (I didn’t buy it before. Don’t live in New York.) And I know a lot of black people who claim they have never bought The Post because of past incidents. Is there anyone who actually purchased the tabloid on a simi-regular basis who has stopped buying/reading the publication due to the toon?
If so, please share and share alike in the comments!
Live Your Best Life. 
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