Eighth Paper Axes Coulter; President Of Her Syndicate Declines Interview
March 12, 2007 -- 10:35 AM EST // // Post a Comment
Okay, a few more updates from the Coulter wars -- and then on to other things (swear to God).
First, an eighth paper has now decided to ax Coulter: The Herald and Review of Decatur, Illinois. The paper's editor, Gary Sawyer, has offered a novel reason for this: Her column is garbage. He writes:
Coulter’s column has become a one note symphony. Every column is about how liberals can’t be believed, the New York Times is in bed with radical Muslims, the Washington Post is guilty of treason, etc. There are plenty of issues in this nation that should be discussed and we wish that Coulter would discuss more of them. Instead, her columns have become more and more frequently one issue rants.Also, Coulter seems to adore the public spotlight a little too much, a trait she abhors in liberals. Her public comments have become more and more strident in order to gain more and more attention. Her comment about Edwards accomplished her purpose – it got her name in the news.
The decision for the Herald & Review was also based on balance. When Molly Ivins was alive she was a counter-balance to Coulter. Ivins wasn’t as acid-tongued as Coulter, but she was close, especially when the issue involved the Bush family. Since Ivins death a few weeks ago, it’s become more and more clear that there isn’t the balance there once was.
It's deeply dispiriting that we've now reached the point where anyone could see Coulter and Molly Ivins as "balancing" each other, but so be it.
Meanwhile, another update: The President of United Press Syndicate, which distributes Coulter's column, has gotten back to me with an official answer to this blog's interview request. As noted below, I emailed UPS' chief, Lee Salem, a long list of questions last week, and he subsequently indicated that he was considering answering them.
Now Salem has emailed to say that he won't be answering the questions -- because, he writes, "nothing I could share at this point about how syndication works will address the issues" I and others have raised. But the "issues" are simple: By syndicating her column, he's giving a massive megaphone to a bigot who delights in advocating the assassination of political figures and journalists and thinks news organizations (such as Salem's own) should be physically destroyed. And I genuinely wanted to know why he doesn't view this as a problem.
Update: Editor and Publisher has a rundown on editors who have decided to keep Coulter and why.