Make that 7 newspapers that have dropped Coulter--and this one did it good!

[trumad]

Ann Coulter no longer welcome in the Chronicle

The rapid escalation of electronic communication options and the frequent inappropriate and indiscriminate use of those options have combined to produce horror stories regarding job terminations that we have all heard about and shaken our heads over. We all know stories of folks getting fired via e-mail or through a voice-mail message left on a home or cell phone answering machine. We can't fathom the gutless and impersonal nature of such terminations. We can't fathom it -- yet we're about to do one better. We're going to fire someone publicly -- in print -- right here, right now...

Ann Coulter is not a “real” employee of the Chronicle. She isn't a freelancer or even an independent contractor. If she were an employee and referred to another human being as a “faggot,” her employment would be short-lived. As it is, the acerbic Coulter is a syndicated columnist whose material is distributed through Universal Press Syndicate. Universal President and Editor Lee Salem has responded to Coulter's remarks by saying, “She is not an employee, and we have no legal power to ‘fire' her.”

That's a lot like the Chronicle saying, “She didn't say it in one of the columns we ran, so it isn't our problem.” Wrong. It is our problem, and not dealing with it is a cop-out.

So yesterday we called Universal Press Syndicate and “fired” Coulter. What she said was wrong and hurtful and stepped way beyond the line of human decency, much less political commentary.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/03/and_a_seventh_p.php

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. A little late, isn't it?

She's been spewing bigotry for the last five years, and now she's unwelcome?

[trumad]

2. Better late than never...

I like that pun..:-)

[xchrom]

5. better late than never.

[DefenseLawyer]

6. Not sure I follow your logic

Since they didn't act in the past, you are critical of them acting now? Since one can't go back in time, the only alternative to acting now is not acting at all. Given those two options, I say good for them. Better late than never.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. No, I'm critical of them not acting then.

Coulter's years of bigotry was fine with them until she got more negative press than usual.

[ClintonTyree]

59. Right, and they've replaced her with another...

polarizing, reich-wing lunatic, Malkin. They still want to get that rabid-right message out, they haven't changed their POV one iota. They just need a different spokes-shrew. :eyes:

Other than Coulter losing some pocket money, nothing has changed. Their message remains the same. Hate everything to the left of Adolph Hitler.

I don't see this as much of a "victory". They've just substituted one reich-wing nut-job for another. Does anyone actually think Malkin will be any better? Until these newspapers stop supporting ALL reich-wing hate mongers nothing is gained.

[wryter2000]

27. It boggles the mind

My coworker came in the other day and said, "I guess Coulter said something really obnoxious." My jaw dropped. I answered, "She's been saying horrid things for years." I googled for a minute and found her statement about the 911 widows; "it's not clear if Clinton should be impeached or assassinated," and "My only problem with Tim McVeigh is that he should have parked his truck outside the New York Times building."

I feel as if I should smack them all and scream, "Where have you been for the last X years?"

[Zuiderelle]

33. I guess your glass stays half-empty.

:eyes:

[ZanZaBar]

51. What do you mean 'she' ? He's a MAN, baby!

I especially like how he did not bother to answer the 'gender' question. ROFL! Ann is clearly a man. Creepy!

~Zanzabar

[Der Blaue Engel]

53. Of all the transphobic posts I've seen in this vein

this one is the most inexplicable. What does the voter registration card have to do with anything?

[nxylas]

64. Wait a minute, they blacked out Anndy's signature but not his address?

The last 4 digits of his SSN I can understand but his signature? Some people have funny ideas about protecting a person's privacy.

[MacGregor]

65. The whole point of her voter registration being up...

...is that the address wasn't really that of her legal residence, it was of her realtor's office.

[yardwork]

72. Please stop the nasty comments about transgendered people

It's just as obnoxious to make fun of transgendered people as it is to call someone a "faggot." And further, there is no evidence that Ann Coulter is a man, so people who say this just make themselves (and this site) look ridiculous.

Please stop.

[MADem]

3. Michelle Malkin is cleaning up--I guess she's the designated hitter

and the papers are replacing one cretin with another!

We are mindful, however, of readers who enjoy a regular column written from a conservative perspective and realize that such a column need not be offensive in order to be effective. We have since “hired” Michelle Malkin to replace Coulter in our rotation of syndicated political columnists. Born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey, Malkin graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. She has been a columnist and editorial writer for both the Los Angeles Times and the Seattle Times before moving to Washington, D.C. Her columns are concise, witty, hard-hitting and more than capable of irritating and exasperating liberals without her feeling the need to insult. Malkin's columns are now distributed in more than 200 papers throughout the country. The Chronicle is happy to be one of them.

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2007/03/09/opinions/opinions01.txt

[enki23]

8. concentration... er... "internment" camp enthusiast malkin?

that's a pretty dubious "improvement"

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. She wil have her macaca moment

I trust her

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. Totally. She can't help herself

[Rob H.]

14. Or "designated Hitler," depending on one's POV

Malkin and Coulter: same noxious right wing ideology, different names.

[MADem]

22. Designated Hitler...I LIKE it!!! Well done! NT

[Oeditpus Rex]

44. I hate to pick nits, but I'm a baseball purist

The metaphor should be "pinch Hitler," or "relief Hitler." If Malkin were a designated Hitler, the paper would already have been running her column — just not those in which she defends herself.

:crazy:

[Vinnie From Indy]

60. lol!

You are correct! Well done!

[Rob H.]

62. LOL--too funny

"Pinch Hitler" it is! :rofl:

[walldude]

21. Yeah I posted this in another thread on this

they went from the worst to the second worst. Woo hoo. Not like they have a huge pool of honest conservatives to choose from but sheesh..

[KingofNewOrleans]

4. UPI syndication--wasn't UPI bought by the Moonies

several years back? I try to stay up on these things but I'm a little foggy on whether UPI is owned by the Washington Times.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. You are correct

and that is when the dean of the WH correspondents left UPI (Hellen Thomas)

[CottonBear]

12. We call it the Moonie Times. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

29. I thought Pat Robertson owned UPI. The Moonies own the WashTimes. nt

[donheld]

58. The Moonies indeed own UPI

[saltpoint]

11. Bullseye for the Chronicle.

[GoneOffShore]

13. And a blackeye at the same time

for "Hiring" Malkinowitch.

[saltpoint]

15. Yep. It's hard to like darling Michelle. What a bile-spewing soul she is.

[GoneOffShore]

16. And she was born in Philly

I'm so ashamed.

But then we do have John Street.

Otherwise known as Mayor Useless or "Dead End" Street

[saltpoint]

17. I don't blame Philadelphia for Michelle. 'Had the chance to visit the

city not so long back and loved it.

My guide knew every bookshop and coffeeshop around, and we talked about the days of the Founders and the old days of the Philadelphia Phillies and Clay Dalrymple.

[MethuenProgressive]

18. I thought righties were against being 'politicaly correct'!

What a hoot - faking moral outrage only after they see which way the wind is blowing...

[cwydro]

19. Excellent.

[blogslut]

20. 7 papers

Schweet. :)

Now, if we could just get the syndicate to drop her completely...

[demobabe]

31. As long as at least 20-30 papers subscribe to her

The syndicate will keep her. That's the way those guys work. It has to be financially not worth it for a syndicate to drop someone. The best thing to do is to target her list of papers and go after each one, one by one and drive her out.

It could be done, and probably wouldn't be all that hard.

[LiberalFighter]

47. And they will continue to claim over 100 major newspapers

[Initech]

23. Most excellent!

[riderinthestorm]

25. This was my letter to the Chronicle

To whom it may concern,

I will no longer be reading the Daily Chronicle, nor will I recommend your paper from today forward. I read and recommend an assortment of papers and try to keep an open mind about most topics, but I have decided that I can no longer endorse newspapers that carry Ann Coulter's column. Her commentary has never been interesting, educational or balanced and I am surprised the Daily Chronicle has kept her as a columnist for so long. However, with her recent comments calling John Edwards a "faggot" I am now actively boycotting her and those who associate with her. She is a despicable, bigoted woman who does not deserve her bully pulpit with her sensationalized rhetoric and hatefulness.

Ann Coulter long ago crossed over the line of respectful commentary into odious shrieking and I hope the Chronicle will drop this columnist and perhaps regain me as a reader.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxx

Please note that I am not a subscriber but I have looked at the online newspaper for farm auction information.


This is what I received from them today:

In a strongly worded editorial in today’s Chronicle I did “fire” Ann Coulter. I’ve attached a copy of that editorial. Thanks for your comments.

John Pfeifer
President and Publisher
The Daily Chronicle and Northern Illinois Publishing

[Atman]

26. Proudly proffering the fifth rec

Ann's time is done. Get the resume ready...Wendy's is hiring in this awesome economy, Ann, If you can keep from calling the customers faggots, niggers and towelheads.

.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

28. But, but, but...little innocent wide-eyed orphan annie 'splained herself yesterday...

"Faggot isn't a bad word. It just means that someone is a wuss."

Gosh, ain't you people got any feelings for the poor kid?

[SemperEadem]

70. And if that's her response, then she really truly isn't interested in

where/how she is wrong.

Hey Ann--here's a $.25 clue for you for free: RESORTING TO PERSONAL ATTACKS AGAINST A PERSON YOU DISAGREE WITH PROVES THAT YOU NO LONGER HAVE A VALID POINT TO YOUR ARGUMENT.

The point is not that someone is a wuss. The point is you don't agree with their politics and think their political reasoning is weak. There is a huge difference between the two, however, with all of your education and the opportunities you've taken advantage of in your privileged life, you don't seem to be able to muster up the smarts to figure that one out.

No, faggot IS a bad word. It's derrogatory, it's demeaning and its use is beneath someone who has as much education as you claim to have. It would be like saying that you are a C-U-Next-Tuesday. Anytime the exchange flips into name calling, then it's proof that you no longer have a valid point to your argument and in order to regain what you perceive as a loss of personal power (why? just because you don't agree with someone's politics? how trite), you launch into personally attacking them in order to feel powerful again.

If it takes that to make up for your loss of personal power, then you really should be in rehab for THAT, not for saying the word you claim would put you there.

[annabanana]

30. DAY-UM!

Now THAT'S a smackdown.
I am just simmering away in a nice warm jacuzzi of scheudenfreude.

[wicket]

32. K & R

:kick:

[Uncle Joe]

34. Thanks for the thread trumad

Kicked and recommended

[AnnInLa]

35. Her column WILL be replaced by Michelle Malkin

verified at TPM

[theHandpuppet]

36. OMG!! Malkin graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio???!!!

The Oberlin College known for its historically progressive values? The first college in the US to enroll women on an equal basis with men? The college that was admitting African American students by 1835?

What the hell happened to her?

[mconvente]

38. every tree has a bad apple or two... nt

[MedleyMisty]

49. Group /= every single member of group?

I live in the South. I am white, but not racist or Christian or Republican or a Nascar fan.

I hear that sometimes people who don't live in the southern region of the US do racist things.

Some Muslims aren't terrorists. Some terrorists aren't Muslims. In fact, not all Christians are hateful and ignorant.

So it's perfectly possible that a person could go to a college and not be a cardboard cutout of the stereotype about the college. And yes, I realize that this is a positive stereotype, but still - humans are individuals, not a Borg collective.

[StarTurtle]

55. As an Oberlin graduate, I wonder the same thing.

I suspect that she got her attention-whore needs filled by setting herself up in opposition to Oberlin's prevailing ethos, and decided to go for more of the same after graduation.

Oh well. Every college has a few of them. If you're a Wooster graduate, then your alma mater boasts Harry K. Thaw, the guy who shot Stanford White.

'Course, I'd rather have him on my alumni/ae list than La Malkin. :shrug:

[Sherman A1]

37. Good News

[Pierre.Suave]

39. This is a god news/bad news situation.

They got rid of one wingnut and replaced her with another. I fail to see the improvement.

[SemperEadem]

71. well, I can see it as Malkin is pretty much on notice

to stick to her issues and defend her point or else she will be dropped, too. As all credible journalists know, stick to your facts. No editorializing. No one cares what you think--just write your piece and submit it for publication.

The day that journalists became rock stars is the day that journalistic integrity began its slide in earnest down that slippery slope they're always talking about.

[Babel_17]

40. Ann Coulter as Nicki Brand,

apologies for being slightly OT and if this has been noted before.

But I see Ms. Coulter as resonating that character from Videodrome. Though without the Deborah Harry hotness.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/

Rena King: What about it, Nicki? Is it socially positive?
Nicki Brand: Well, I think we live in overstimulated times. We crave stimulation for its own sake. We gorge ourselves on it. We always want more, whether it's tactile, emotional or sexual. And I think that's bad.
Max Renn: Then why did you wear that dress?
Nicki Brand: Sorry?
Max Renn: That dress. It's very stimulating.

Max Renn: And it's red. You know what Freud would've said about that dress.
Nicki Brand: And he would've been right. I admit it. I live in a highly excited state of overstimulation.
Max Renn: Listen, I'd really like to take you out to dinner tonight

Nicki Brand: Got any porno?
Max Renn: You serious?
Nicki Brand: Yeah. It gets me in the mood.

Nicki Brand: What's this? "Videodrome"?
Max Renn: Torture. Murder.
Nicki Brand: Sounds great.
Max Renn: Ain't exactly sex.
Nicki Brand: Says who?

Nicki Brand: I wonder how you get to be a contestant on this show.
Maxx Renn: I don't know. Nobody ever seems to come back next week.

Nicki Brand: I'm gonna audition. I was made for that show.
Max Renn: Nobody on earth was made for that show.

Sadly though, Ann always does come back next week. ;)

http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/v/videodrome-script-transcript-david-cronenberg.html

[Straight Shooter]

41. Thank you, Chronicle. May others follow your example.

:thumbsup:

[EndElectoral]

42. Got this response from USAToday on ads on her site

Thank you for communicating your concern regarding USA TODAY's advertising on the Ann Coulter Web site.

USA TODAY places advertising on the Internet in various ways, including through the use of networks, which place our ads throughout their affiliate web sites. We were not aware our ads were appearing on AnnCoulter.com.

We have requested immediate removal of our ads from this site and expect them to be removed expeditiously. Thank you for bringing this situation to our attention.

Sincerely,

USA TODAY Customer Relations Department

[Babel_17]

43. Awesome! NT

[Hekate]

68. Way cool. I keep telling people that writing letters can pay off.

Thanks for doing your part. :hi:

Hekate

[Raksha]

45. Great! Somehow conservative pundits have got the idea in their heads

that they can be just as outrageous and offensive as they want to be--in fact, the more offensive they are, the better! Their trash talk might win applause from the Freepers, but the majority of Americans are NOT Freepers and are totally fed up with that stuff. Maybe after a few firings like this, the RWW talking heads will get the idea that "civility" applies to THEM too!

[muntrv]

46. Coulter vs Malkin is like choosing between herpes and hemorrhoids.

[dionysus]

48. more like cancer vs AIDS

[Kurovski]

50. Impeach Ann Coulter!

I like.

[badgerpup]

52. Coulter replaced with Malkin...(shudders)

I have this sudden vision of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, ya know?
Not that either Coulter or Malkin have anything even remotely approaching the style, presence, or sheer elan that both Joan and Bette possessed...
just they hated each other's guts with a passion.

Can you imagine what it must have been like working on the set of
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
:scared::hide::yoiks:

[rickrok66]

54. Keep the tide rolling

I tried to get her removed from my local paper last year, when she called on skinheads to attack people. I guess it wasn't enough for the local conservatives to remove her column, but at least they printed my letter to the editor. It started a small buzz, but died off. Then, I tried to muster some support on DU to exorcise the Coultergeist, but to no avail. I am glad and sad that the word "faggot" was finally the shot heard 'round the world on Coulter. After years of her hate and threats to harm others, she is finally getting what she deserves - banishment. For Michelle Malkin - the Asian hating Asian will hang herself too with her own words.

[intheflow]

56. The link on talkingpointsmemo to original article is wrong.

I get some opinion piece about DeKalb high school students getting warm and fuzzy with the DeKalb police force. :shrug:

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2007/03/09/opinions/opinions01.txt

[Laurier]

57. It's about time.

Even if it's a face-saving move of sorts, it's better than nothing.

[progressoid]

61. Well Michelle Malkin ought to bring some reason and class to the paper

NOT!!

[stonebone]

63. kick

[Name removed]

66. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. 
[link:www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html|Click
here] to review the message board rules.

[Whoa_Nelly]

67. Bye Gunslinger!

PS Spellcheck might be your friend...if you bother to make friends with the spellcheck....
However, it can be a difficult relationship for some at best :rofl:

[BearSquirrel2]

69. This is unfortunate.

I hate Anne Coulter. At the same time, I really like her.

There is nothing unique about Anne Coulter's message. It's the same rotten bile that comes from pretty much any conservative pundit. The difference is that Coulter doesn't bother to package her message in a way that sounds remotely human. She lays bear conservatives for what they are by example. By contrast the guy who is the most dangerous is Bill O'Reilly because he wraps his bile and spew into an "aw shucks" look out for the little guy middle of the road indpendent.

If they replace Anne Coulter with a liberal columnist, good for them. If they replace Anne Coulter with Laura Ingraham, I think we've taken a step in the wrong direction. The first step to exposing the conservative message taking it out of it's american flag/jesus wrapping. Coulter makes it easy because she doesn't bother to wrap her "gifts" to the media consumer.

[yardwork]

73. One correspondent wasn't that impressed

I liked this response to the announcement of the firing on the Chronicle's website:

Jim
wrote on March 09, 2007 11:16 PM:
"So, your fired Coulter and "hired" Malkin? Brilliant. Coulter has always been the face of the modern Republican party: racist, homophobic and authoritarian. You hired her anyway. That reflects on you, not her. And when finally called out you take the opportunity to hire another bigot. Perhaps you could ask Malkin to write some more about the "Japs" - she's good at that kind of thing. Sorry, the Chronical is as guilty of bigotry as Coulter ever was - because you willingly and happily gave her a forum for her hatred. Shame on you. "