Today Boston Herald Editorial Page Editor Shelley Cohen has a heartfelt and candid apology for the racist cartoon it published showing President Obama in his bathroom squeezing toothpaste onto his toothbrush while a White House intruder looks on from the bathtub. The uninvited visitor asks, "Have you tried the watermelon-flavored toothpaste?" The intent of the cartoon two and …
Continue reading Shelley Cohen, the Boston Herald and racist cartoon
Don't tell me the end of summer isn't until the third week in September. Virtually everyone understands summer ends on Labor Day (or the Friday before for those who want to beat the rush.) The leaves are beginning to turn. Crickets are making a racket at night. Returning college students are clogging the streets with …
Just as the Boston Herald was unable to sway voters with obsessively demeaning Elizabeth Warren as an affirmative action princess "Fauxcohontas," so too did the Boston Globe fail to run John Tierney out of office, using barrels and barrels of ink to repeat the slimy story alleging Tierney must have known about the money that wife …
Continue reading John Tierney: snatching victory from the jaws of defeat
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has announced it will no longer endorse political candidates, except in some rare undefined instances. What a travesty! Let's face it. A newspaper or television station's endorsement of a candidate probably has little impact on how most people cast their ballots on the highest visibility races. But that newspaper or television …
Continue reading Leading newspaper wimps out on editorial endorsements
In 1978, I was covering Republican U. S. Senator Ed Brooke’s reelection campaign for the Boston Phoenix. Both on primary and election day, I was glued to him. Where he went, I went. Sometimes it was meet-and-greets with people. Sometimes it was consultations with staff. The possibility of defeat hung in the air, but he …
Continue reading With public figures, the personal gestures can unsettle
It used to be a little awkward when people I know would question why I read the Boston Herald, (along with the Globe, the New York Times, the Wall St. Journal and more.) The quality was often a real question mark. There were the outrageous tabloid headlines, the Rush Limbaugh-like columnist (you know who he …
Continue reading Boston Herald struts its stuff – to good effect
Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. Mark Twain knew it to be true. The underlying message is no less true today, despite how communications technology has changed the nature of the media. It’s really disappointing that Barack Obama’s press staff may not get it.They give the appearance of being …
Continue reading Herald v Obama saga reveals much about how politicians deal with the media
Is this a wakeup call? Is it wrong to look at the unspeakably tragic shootings in Arizona as an opportunity to call for the toning down of political rhetoric and the return of civility to public discourse? I think not. But will those who are advocating a return to civility walk the walk?Ironically, Congresswoman Gabrielle …
Continue reading Gabrielle Giffords: LET THE SOUL SEARCHING TRANSLATE INTO ACTION
Nationally, angry voters pulled the lever for change, but here in Massachusetts a majority cast their ballots for optimism. Winners and losers weren’t defined just by the metrics however. Scott Brown, while not on the ballot, lost some sheen because Massachusetts voters turned their backs on candidates who, like Sean Bielat and Jeff Perry, claimed …
Continue reading Feeling blue while seeing red? Thoughts on other winners and losers
Marjorie Arons-Barron 