The hottest media controversy in Philly is over the Philadelphia Inquirer's hiring of "torture memos" author John Yoo as a regular columnist. PW Twitterfriend Steve Gengler challenged PW's criticism of the hiring. The Twitter exchange is reproduced below:
PW: You know what DOESN'T help us get the week started right? Reading Harold Jackson defend John Yoo's Inky column: http://tinyurl.com/o3bcz4
sgengler I don't get the Inquirer/John Yoo controversey, God forbid a newspaper present a different opinion from your own. @philebrity @phillyweekly
PW: @sgengler We don't mind different opinions. But newspapers don't usually give contracts to people credibly accused of war crimes.
PW: @sgengler In fact, even though we're not conservative, we WELCOME a thoughtful conservative writer at Inky. One not accused of war crimes.
sgengler @PhillyWeekly it's spurring debate on a controversial subject. Newspapers should challenge there readers with varied ideas.
PW: @sgengler Agreed. But newspapers also exercise judgment. Lyndon Larouche has "varied ideas," but nobody's putting him on an op-ed page.
sgengler @PhillyWeekly believe me I am ANTI John Yoo, but hiring just some other conservative wouldn't be nearly as provocative.
PW: @sgengler OK. But being provocative isn't the same thing as challenging readers with varied ideas. It might distract from the ideas.
PW: @sgengler And with that, we'll let you have the last word in this Twitter debate. ; )
sgengler @PhillyWeekly perhaps, but at least people are taking notice who probably would never read an op/ed piece or even a newspaper.
sgengler@PhillyWeekly and thanks for taking the time to respond... ;)
You have to feel sorry for Harold Jackson. The Inquirer’s editorial page editor clearly hired torture advocate/enabler John Yoo as a columnist because publisher Brian Tierney told him to do so. Jackson clearly feels some distaste for this. And yet it is Jackson who is forced to march out before the public and proclaim, half-heartedly, that [...]
John Yoo’s columns for the Inquirer have become increasingly controversial. Blogs like Phawker and Young Philly Politics have all been raising a ruckus. Starting today, Yoo's column has also drawn national attention from the likes of the Romenesko media blog, Think Progress, Media Matters for America and uber-blogger Andrew Sullivan. Now Will Bunch is adding his voice -- and pledging to lead a crusade against his sister paper.
The New York Times weighs in on John Yoo’s columnizing for the Philadelphia Inquirer. As I had suspected from Harold Jackson’s “contractual obligations” defense of Yoo, the impetus for Yoo’s hiring came not from the editorial board but from publisher Brian Tierney. Big surprise. The Times: To critics of the hiring, (Tierney) said, “The most important speech to [...]
I have to admit: When I called Harold Jackson on Monday and asked him why the Philadelphia Inquirer keeps printing columns by torture memo author John Yoo, I expected something of a pro forma response — something along the lines of “We believe in vigorous debate from voices across the political spectrum etc. etc.” And [...]
We realize that the op-ed pages of the Philadelphia Inquirer are never going to share our politics. We’re ok with that. Really. Diversity is the spice of life and all that. Still, we wonder why the Inky keeps giving op-ed space to John Yoo. Yoo, of course, is the Bush Administration lawyer who wrote many of [...]
Yes, I’m a little grumpy that the Philadelphia Inquirer keeps giving op-ed space to John Yoo. It’s not that I’m opposed to conservatives having a voice in prominent Philadelphia media. It’s that in most cases, a lawyer who thinks the president should have the power to crush a child’s testicles — provided, you know, the [...]
I think I’ve got a long and honorable history of expressing disdain for John Yoo — the lawyer President Bush got to write memos saying that the laws of war (including torture) don’t actually apply during wartime — so I’ll outsource most of my disdain for his appearance on the Inky’s editorial page today to [...]
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