Tuesday, September 9, 2008
News / News Bites Just because you died that doesn't make you special.
Posted by Michael Miner on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 6:11 PM
The Tribune -- even the new "if we all think outside the box maybe this sorry ship won't sink" Tribune -- doesn't like to offend. So when stand-up comic Ken Swanborn died the other day, the paper turned up its nose at the paid death notice his family submitted.
The Tribune refused to publish the notice's final line, a nod to Swanborn's sense of humor and political convictions: "In lieu of flowers, please vote Democratic."
Says a woman on the paper's paid-death-notice desk, "If it's considered discriminatory or offensive, they take the line out."
Offensive?
"What if I'm a Republican and I'm offended?"
But instead you offended the family.
"Well, it was not intentional, but we do have protocols and we do have rules we have to follow."
But the family was paying to say this!
"We have guidelines."
The Sun-Times published the death notice as the family wrote it. And Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper quoted the last line in his tribute to Swanborn, a buddy from the days when they were growing up in Dolton.
Says Carol O'Neill, another Dolton buddy, "Only Swanny could have his obit rejected. He’s been a huge political activist for years. His parents started the movement years ago. When black families started moving into Dolton in the early 60s they were involved in meeting with the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King. So at an early age Swanny was involved in standing up for social justice. In his mind you were a Democrat or get out of here."
Tribune innovation czar Lee Abrams might want to innovate some common sense.
(H/t Eileen Favorite.)
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How can you refuse a harmless line like that in a death notice?? "Life-long Packer Fan"; politically incorrect for a Chicago paper, and offensive to all CHICAGO BEAR FANS, but that offense they will allow. Who gets to "edit" those adds? Shame on you!! Glad to see that "Swannee, how I love ya, how I love ya" gets the last laugh!!
If the "other" viewpoint was expressed in a similar context was expressed, would it be "censored"? Sad to say, but I think not. Trib is a Republican rag, has been since I've been born. Plus, no one throws a righteously indignant hissy fit like a politically-informed right-winger. Can't turn off the core audience...
I'm "offended" that the Tribune was worried about what was said in the Guest Book, but didn't care that they offended the family by depriving them of their last wishes. You know that's the last thing that a loved one can do for the one they've lost ( and themselves ) and the Chicago Tribune took that away from the family. Like someone said shame on the Chicago Tribune.
Everybody, please forward this story to all Democratic activists and sympathetic journalists around the country. This has to make a stir. If it wasn't so offensive to the bereaved, it would be purely funny. Perhaps the kind of thing Ken might have used in his comedy act...?
Ah, but this works for the best because the huge publicity changed this from a death notice to a major news story.
According to Sam Zell, advertising from "Gentleman's" clubs in acceptable, but according to the classified ad taker (who might not even be in this country, Trib outsourced those jobs a few months ago), "please vote Democratic" is not. Time to move to a country where democracy is actually still practiced.
The Tribune is a far-far-far right paper. They are essentially a print version of Fox News. I've been boycotting the Tribune for about ten years. In light of that, this is hardly surprising. Right wingers don't have any sense of decency. The only thing I can say is, the family should have run the ad in the Sun-Times instead.
The Sun-Times did carry the ad too, as written. The Tribune isn't a far-far-far right paper. But it's a weary, conservative paper with a bureaucratic culture not easily shucked.
The bureaucratic answers you got, "we have guidelines," are so utterly mindless that the Chicago Tribune should feel embarrassed. There is nothing offensive about including an inoffensive political message to vote Democratic. Had the message gone into name calling or something, the bureaucrat might have had a case. Truly pathetic.
Everyone knows the Chicago Tribune is a GOP/Republican paper. That's why no one's reading it anymore. Chicago's four sane choices are The New York Times, The Sun-Times, The Reader and The Onion (of course!).
Regardless of what we are republican or democrate we should honor the family request. What is this world coming to where are our morales? and repect to others this is really sad
My beloved Republican grandparents used to say "You pays your money, you takes your choice." The Trib was WRONG not to follow the family's wish, especially since they paid for the notice.
Anyone who thinks the Tribune editorial (and by editorial I mean the ones putting words in the paper) was behind nixxing the notice, is off their mark. This is something to take up with the advertising department, NOT the writers/reporters.
Tribber, no one said this was a conspiracy from the Tribune editorial, but merely that one employee, (mis)guided by the culture and political leanings of his/her employer (and maybe his/her own), made a serious and potentially actionable error. If you spent the time researching the name of the person who made the bad call and asked Tribune higher-ups if they stand behind her decision, I doubt they would support it. No paper in their right mind would support this kind of legal exposure.
I am Ken's widow. The ribune has relented and apologized, and will reprint the notice next Sunday with the line in. It will, of course, omit the info about the now-past funeral services.
Thanks to all who fought the good fight and continue to fight for peace. My family thanks all of you, his old friends and new friends. You continue to overwhelm us and we so appreciate it. Now let's do, vote democratic and get Obama in. Thanks to all again. Peace, Carol
The Fairness Doctrine would dictate that for every one of these, there needs to be one that reads "Please vote Republican!"
As a volunteer for various local Democrat campaigns, I can assure you that dead people have been voting for years, sometimes more than once in the same election. This is nothing new. I am sick thinking of the volunteers walking back into campaign headquarters, announcing not only that they voted, but the number of times they've voted that day.
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