Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation, the company that publishes the New York Post, officially apologized for the offensive newspaper cartoon that ran last Wednesday, February 18, reports CNN.
"Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted," Rupert said. "I can assure you — without a doubt — that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such. We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard, and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community."
Previously, S2S reported that the paper issued an apology late last week. "It was meant to mock an ineptly written federal stimulus bill. Period," the Post stated in an editorial titled "That Cartoon". "But it has been taken as something else – as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism. This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize."
The cartoon, the newspaper and cartoonist Sean Delonas have been criticized by everyone from civil rights activist Al Sharpton to the NAACP, who insisted that Sean be fired from the paper. Sean called all of the hype "absolutely friggin’ ridiculous. Do you really think I’m saying Obama should be shot? I didn’t see that in the cartoon," he told CNN. He insists that the cartoon was only meant to criticize the stimulus package, not President Obama.
– Whitney Teal
Photo courtesy New York Post
Here’s more:
NY Post apologizes for ‘That Cartoon’
Stimulus money is on the way; some Republicans don’t plan on taking it
