Newsday on Sunday mentioned it “deeply” regretted working a Charlie Kirk-related cartoon that prompted native GOP pols to induce readers to cancel or boycott the newspaper.
The Lengthy Island, New York, newspaper grew to become the most recent outlet to take corrective motion in a tense media surroundings after the homicide of the right-wing activist.
“We deeply regret this mistake and sincerely apologize to the family of Charlie Kirk and to all. We made an error in judgment. The cartoon has been removed from our digital platforms,” the assertion mentioned.
MELISSA MAJCHRZAK through Getty Photographs
The syndicated cartoon by former Pulitzer finalist Chip Bok ran Saturday, displaying an empty chair with splattered blood above it. An arrow factors from the phrases “Turning Point USA,” the title of Kirk’s group, to the chair.
Nassau County Govt Bruce Blakeman, a Donald Trump ally, wrote that the “unconscionable” work “trivialized” the demise of Kirk. “Cancel Newsday!” he urged on X.
U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) additionally joined the outcry that the cartoonist, who will not be employed by Newsday, be fired.
Suffolk County Republican Get together Chairman Jesse Garcia had demanded a boycott of Newsday till it apologized to Kirk’s household, readers of Newsday “and to every American who still believes in freedom of speech.” However he accepted the newspaper’s mea culpa on Sunday.
The newspaper mentioned the artist’s intent was to “suggest that Kirk’s assassination might be a turning point for healing our nation’s divide.”
Nonetheless, “the imagery was inappropriate and should never have been published in Newsday.”
Newsday’s assertion adopted a extra measured response earlier: “Unfortunately, some readers found the imagery insensitive. Instead of generating debate, it inflamed emotions. We regret the upset it caused.”
It has been a tightrope stroll for media within the aftermath of Kirk’s demise, given his controversial views. Reporters and others who have been crucial of him or perceived to not correctly mourn his passing have paid the value in job loss, suspension, ridicule from a community colleague and on-line abuse.
