Murdoch apologizes for NY Post cartoon

Less than a week after the New York Post published a cartoon that appeared to compare President Barack Obama to a chimpanzee that severely mauled a Connecticut woman before police shot it to death, News Corporation chair Rupert Murdoch apologized in a statement printed in today's edition.

"Last week, we made a mistake," he said. "We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted."

The Post is certainly no stranger to controversy, and Sean Delonas' cartoon is only a latest in a series of caricatures that have sparked outrage among people of color, activists within the movement for LGBT rights and others.

Murdoch said he is "ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages." He further concluded "the buck stops with him." This mea cupla is almost certainly a welcome development to those who continue to protest outside the tabloid's Midtown offices and call for a boycott and even a review into the Federal Communications Commission's policy regarding Murdoch's New York market share. The fact remains, however, a number of concerns remain at the table.

The Post's editors ultimately decided to publish Delonas' cartoon that used racially insensitive imagery and language to opine against Obama's stimulus package. They almost certainly made this extremely unfortunate and cynical decision in order to garner attention for the tabloid. And the Post's numerous detractors almost immediately responded with protests and a threatened boycott, but this latest incident provides activists and others with an opportunity to think outside the proverbial box to send a clear and decisive message these cartoons will no longer be tolerated.

New York Post cartoon sparks controversy

New York Post cartoonist Sean Delonas' caricature that shows a police officer shooting a chimpanzee while his partner mocks President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill has prompted the Rev. Al Sharpton to speak out against what he asserts is an overtly racist cartoon.

The cartoon, which appears in today's Post, appears to link Travis the chimp, who severely disfigured a Stamford, Connecticut, woman on Monday before police killed him, to Obama. The caption read "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," but Sharpton described the cartoon to the Associated Press as "troubling at best."

Delonas is certainly no stranger to controversy. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has issued numerous calls to action over his cartoons that mock LGBT people. Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, actor George Takei and Thomas Beatie are among those Delonas has depicted, but his latest cartoon implies GLAAD's efforts have generated little (if any) tangible results.

Sharpton's comments to the Associated Press also beg the question as to whether expressions of outrage actually draw more attention to a cartoonist who arguably generates more publicity for himself and the publication that publishes his work. I struggled with this very question at GLAAD after the Post published two of Delonas' cartoons in Oct. 2006 that mocked McGreevey and disgraced Congressman Mark Foley [R-Fla.] and compared marriage for same-sex couples to bestiality. GLAAD was quick to issue two calls to action that urged its supporters to express their outrage, but nothing concrete came out of these efforts.

Delonas' latest cartoon is certainly disturbing and unfortunate. The fact remains, however, public expressions of outrage simply garners more publicity for a publication that arguably has little incentive to listen to its critics. A new and arguably more drastic game plan is in order to adequately address these problematic cartoons and the tabloid that continues to publish them.

GLAAD After New Post-Again-For 'Toe Tapping'

I have to acknowledge my former GLAAD colleagues for their recent consistency in their attempts to hold the New York Post accountable for their arguably homophobic and clearly sensational coverage of many LGBT-related stories. I wrote this story for EDGE earlier this week after the media watchdog criticized the tabloid for its use of 'toe tapping' to describe former CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts in relation to an alleged Manhunt profile in which he posted explicit pictures of himself. Gossip is gossip until proven otherwise but the question remains as to whether GLAAD's efforts to go after the Post will actually generate any concrete results. Many activists have blasted the media watchdog for their apparent lack of protocol to the Post -- or at the very least a slow response to problematic coverage. Others remain highly skeptical. These points of view arguably remain valid. The question remains, however, as to whether attempts to reign in the Post are worth the time. New York activists founded GLAAD in 1985 in direct response to the tabloid's highly problematic coverage of the AIDS epidemic so the media watchdog has an added charge, if you will, to handle this situation correctly.

The New York Post, which is a must-read for many Manhattanites for its Page Six gossip coverage, has landed itself in hot water for a perceived anti-gay slur. It’s far from the first time the newspaper, which has positioned itself as a national tabloid in the tradition of London’s Sun and News of the World--both also owned by press lord Rupert Murdoch--has been cited for its coverage.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD is up in arms over the Post’s description of an openly gay former CNN Headline News anchor in an article published in Page Six on Sept. 7. The gossip column reported now Insider co-host Thomas Roberts posted explicit pictures under his profile on the popular gay cruising site Manhunt. Manhattan blogger Kenneth Walsh had posted them on his blog Kenneth in the 212. The pictures contain full-frontal and nude back pictures but do not display the man’s face.

GLAAD took issue with the tabloid’s description of Roberts as a "toe-tapper." The term refers to outgoing U.S. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), who was arrested last month by undercover police in a Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport restroom for allegedly soliciting sex. The police officer reported an elaborate ritual for soliciting sex that involved Craig putting his foot into the officer’s stall and tapping his foot, an action that quickly became fodder for late-night comics.

GLAAD Director of Media Strategy Paul Karr told EDGE in a prepared statement that the Post continues its homophobic reporting through the use of the slur. "What we’ve got is a paper that’s stuck wallowing in the prejudices of the 1980s," he said. "The stereotypes the Post clings to so desperately might have seemed novel two decades ago, but today they’re just vulgar, cheap and tired."

Rubenstein Public Relations, the high-powered New York firm that serves as the Post’s and Murdoch’s New York mouthpiece, did not return EDGE’s requests for comment.

The Post has a long history of tempestuous relations with the gay community. In fact, it helped contribute to the founding of GLAAD itself. New York activists founded GLAAD in 1985 in response to what they deemed the tabloid’s homophobic and salacious coverage of the AIDS epidemic in the city.

GLAAD further blasted the Post last October after it published two cartoons by Sean Delonas, the cartoonist whose viciously satiric jabs usually appear on Page Six. One featured openly gay former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey comforting former Florida Congressman Mark Foley with the caption "Look on the bright side Foley, you’ll have a best-selling book." Another featured a veil-clad man holding a sheep outside a marriage license window following the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling that extended civil unions to same-sex couples in the Garden State. (There was no explanation as to what the relevance was, since the sheep was not a ram, and thus female, as many bloggers pointed out.)

GLAAD also named the Post one of its 2006 Anti-Gay Defamation Offenders in a list it released on January 3. These efforts seemed in vain, however, after the tabloid published yet another Delonas cartoon in July that featured McGreevey threatening Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo in light of the blackmail scandal which nearly forced her to surrender her crown.

The media watchdog again publicly criticized the Post, but a number of activists and even media professionals remain highly skeptical as to whether these efforts have generated tangible changes in its coverage of LGBT-related stories. Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute categorized the tabloid as the "worst of the worst" of what she described as "frat house humor" in an interview with EDGE.

She quickly added GLAAD and other organizations face an uphill battle each time they publicly criticize the Post. "I seriously doubt the Post is going to change," McBride said. "They’ve identified a market and this use of language and treatment of sexual orientations fits within that identity."

New York Post Continues to Offend

The New York Post once again solified its position as an 'equal opportunity offender' with its latest Sean Delonas cartoon.

Nobody in the movement for LGBT rights -- especially in New York -- should express shock that the New York Post continues to maintain its status as an 'equal opportunity offender.' The conservative tabloid struck yet again yesterday with a Sean Delonas pokes fun at the recent Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo scandal with a cartoon which depicts former Garden State Gov. Jim McGreevey in a bikini, high-heels, tiara and sash holding a threat letter as a man in a bedroom waits in the background.

One can easily conclude Delonas' cartoons are tacky at best -- or outright offensive at worst. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation concluded the latter and issued an Action Alert to its constituency late yesterday. The Post published two Delonas' cartoons last October which poked fun at former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley [R-Fla.] and the New Jersey Supreme Court decision which led to the Garden State's civil unions law. Both cartoons depicted McGreevey and GLAAD responded after a flurry of complaints.

I was the organization's Northeast Media Field Strategist at the time and heralded many of these calls. I also brought these complaints to the attention of the Post to little avail outside a pledge to publish letters in a future edition of the Post. New York activists created GLAAD in 1985 in response to the tabloid's sensational coverage of people living with HIV and AIDS. One can argue it is refreshing to see the self-described media watchdog go after the Post. I fear, however, the tabloid's executives and even editors will not listen to an LGBT organization. LGBT New Yorkers will almost certainly call upon their brothers and sisters to boycott the Post. They will even criticize GLAAD for not being proactive enough in its approach to deal with the tabloid. Perhaps now is a time for the movement for LGBT rights to think outside of its narrow box as it strategies how to address this continued offense.