'Chicago Tribune' Pulls 'The Boondocks' Again
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000819456NEW YORK The Chicago Tribune dropped today's "Boondocks," as the strip once again mentioned President Bush's alleged former drug use. The paper had also dropped yesterday's installment.
Why did the Tribune pull Aaron McGruder's Monday and Tuesday comics? "Even in cartoons, you cannot state as a real-life fact something that is not true in real life," Geoff Brown, the Tribune's associate managing editor/features, told E&P. "This is not to say that cartoonists can't dream up conversations or situations to poke fun at a public figure -- that's satire. But when they inaccurately attribute to a public figure a real-life fact, quote, or action that never happened, then lampoon him or her for a fictional fact, quote, or action, that's unfair. Reports from reputable news sources about the president's taped conversation are careful not to state outright that he admitted drug use."
"The Boondocks," of course, is considered a liberal comic. Last month (E&P Online, Feb. 8), the Tribune also pulled the conservative "Prickly City" for a day because it felt the comic -- which tweaked Sen. Ted Kennedy -- contained inaccurate information. "We're trying to be consistent in maintaining a standard for satire," said Brown.
-snip-
Today's comic shows Huey watching TV as an announcer says: "Reportedly, a conversation in which President Bush admitted to smoking marijuana was recorded by Doug Wead. ... This just in. We just got two more revelations from Joe Blow and Petey Crack." Yesterday's strip shows a character saying: "Bush got recorded admitting that he smoked weed." Huey replies: "Maybe he smoked it to take the edge off the coke."
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