Explorations

According to Len Downie, the Post’s policy in 2006 was:

“We keep many things out of the paper on those grounds, including gratuitous nudity, violence, obscenity and racial, ethnic and religious slurs.”

here’s Pat Oliphant’s cartoon from 9 September:

Now, Deborah Howell, the Post’s Ombuds-person, says:

Speaking of overdoing it, a political cartoon by Pat Oliphant that appeared on washingtonpost.com Wednesday prompted complaints from about 350 readers who said he lampooned their faith. The cartoon showed Palin speaking in tongues, an aspect of worship in some Pentecostal churches, and then God telling St. Peter that he didn’t understand what she was saying — “All I can hear is some dam’ right-wing politician spouting gibberish.”

Readers were right to complain; I will deal with political cartooning in another column. Political cartoons and comics aren’t selected at washingtonpost.com the way they are for The Post in print; they are automatically posted.

I’ll note that the cartoon is still appearing on the Post’s web site, even after Ms Howell’s column.

I just sent the following email to Deborah Howell:

Thanks for agreeing that readers were right to complain about this (hell, I’m a Buddhist, and it offends me!) but I will note that it does appear to violate the Post’s stated policy:

“We keep many things out of the paper on those grounds, including gratuitous nudity, violence, obscenity and racial, ethnic and religious slurs.” — per Phillip Kennicott

but that as of 21 September, the cartoon still appears on the Post’s web site, even after your response.

One is forced to wonder at the uniformity of the Post’s application of its own policies if a cartoon published by its own syndicate continues to appear after it has become clear it does, indeed, include religious slurs.

Regards

Charlie Martin