Monday, September 13, 2010

An overreaction?

While in Maine over the weekend I spotted this article on the front page of the Portland Press Herald, flanked by several PAGES (not just articles) of 9/11 memorial stories.

I had a strong visceral reaction to it and I would love to hear/read your thoughts about it, from personal and journalistic perspectives.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/newspaper-apologizes-to-those-offended_2010-09-12.html

At the risk of sounding 'insensitive,' I don't believe that marking the end of Ramadan in a newspaper article displays any disrespect toward the events of 9/11; the two are unrelated. While a follow-up story could have been printed about the widespread public reaction, I think that an apology or a retraction of the original story are both unnecessary.

Is this:
a political move (going against popular opinion)?
a personal decision (an editor's sense of conscience)?
a financial one (fear of losing advertising and readership)?
none or all of the above?

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