New York Post editor fired after speaking out against controversial cartoon
It's been almost eight months since the New York Post published a cartoon that many interpreted as a racially-loaded swipe at President Obama. The furor the cartoon generated has largely dissipated, but now it threatens to flare up again following the firing of an editor who criticized the paper from within in the tense days following its publication.Associate editor Sandra Guzman was dismissed last week "for reasons that are being hotly debated by personnel inside the company," reports the Huffington Post's Sam Stein. Guzman had expressed her disapproval of the cartoon -- which was drawn by Sean Delonas, and bizarrely tied the then-recent shooting of a crazed chimpanzee to the federal stimulus bill -- in a private email. "I have raised my objections to management," she told recipients.
The Post says Guzman's departure was a simple business matter: The Tempo entertainment section, which she edited, was recently discontinued. And no one seems to have any hard proof that she was let go for any other reason.
But the inference of retribution was one the Post could have and should have anticipated. And Guzman's dismissal looks bad for other reasons as well: She was the only Hispanic woman in the paper's editorial management hierarchy. (There are no African-American women in management, either.) Ivan Roman, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, says the group's board of directors is conferring today to discuss its response and expects to have a statement later.
In response to the chimp flap, News Corp. (NWS), which owns the Post, promised to form a "diversity council" in New York City to improve its relations with minority communities and consider any charges of racial insensitivity. But the formation of that council hasn't prevented further charges of bigotry: For the past two months, a group called Color of Change has been leading a boycott effort against Fox News, another News Corp. property, over the comments of Glenn Beck, who accused Obama of harboring a "deep-seated hatred for white people." Between Beck and Sandra Guzman, it sounds like that diversity council will have a full agenda for its next meeting.



























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 27)
10-07-2009 @ 5:51PM
tothepoint said...
My grandfather fought in WWI, father WWII, Counsins Korea, me and brother served during Vietnam, neices and nephews in both Iraq and Afghanistan, on the ground in the desert. Where did you serve, its a long time from your grandfater in WWI. Maybe we are taking our share of what we deserve.
10-07-2009 @ 3:21PM
Tom H said...
Obama doesn't hate white people?
Reply
10-07-2009 @ 3:38PM
dcbrandtpd said...
Tard.
10-07-2009 @ 3:39PM
Dee said...
How could he? He is both white and black , and was raised with his Mother , and Grandmother.
I think the cartoon was taken out of context . Hasn't anyone ever heard of the government being called "political baffoon's"?
10-07-2009 @ 4:40PM
rhino45411 said...
No he doesn't Glenn Beck...
10-07-2009 @ 5:30PM
Silent Josh said...
You know Obama is half white don't you? And he was raised by his white mother and grandparents? And his "resentment" and "animosity" it's being grossly exaggerated.
10-07-2009 @ 5:33PM
Franklen said...
Tom H said: "Obama doesn't hate white people?"-_-_- No, I don't believe he does. I believe that's another knee jerk response from the panty-crapping tea baggers. Through out the ages, those of closed minds preach fear and foment the ensuing violence against anything they can't comprehend, and in the modern era with the far right, that's just about everything.
10-07-2009 @ 7:31PM
John said...
I don't think he likes ignorant people, you should be worried
10-07-2009 @ 8:15PM
paymyownway said...
Obama and his wife and most blacks do hate white people. Blacks scream racism, but the racism spewn the direction of whites has split this nation apart.
I HOPED Obama would become the president to UNITE and HEAL this nation, especially in a time of depression and war. Instead, OBAMA has used his presidency to give blacks thumbs up to spew their hatred of whites.
HOW MANY CARTOONS WERE DRAWN OF PRESIDENT BUSH ..... LOOKING LIKE A MONKEY? HUH? REMEMBER??? THE BIG MONKEY EARS DRAWN?
WE LAUGHED FOR GOD'S SAKE!
WE "ALL" LAUGHED. ONCE AGAIN, SPECIAL TREATMENT! RACISM AGAINST WHITES. BLACKS ARE SO SENSITIVE.
10-07-2009 @ 9:40PM
agdorr said...
It wasnt about Obama. Pelosi and Reid authored the bill.
10-07-2009 @ 9:47PM
mickey said...
I think its unfair because the paper doesn't employ any 4-year-old male transvestites.
10-07-2009 @ 9:55PM
James said...
You didn't post the cartoon -- so it's impossible to make any kind of judgement about it -- either pro or con.
10-07-2009 @ 10:33PM
TODD said...
How would black America feel if Obama had come out and said " I'm not black, I'm white" ? They would flip. Why has he never come out openly and say, "I'm half black and half white"? I have never read much about him. I hate to watch him because of his political views. So, is he racist? think about it?
10-07-2009 @ 11:39PM
Chris said...
All the black liberation theologians he surrounds himself with make it hard to believe he is color blind in policy matters.
10-08-2009 @ 8:23PM
h8stupidppl said...
pleeseeteemee is a real douche. and to the guy who wrote about making fun of bush, that was towards his stupidity, not the color of his skin. Whats funny is that all the ppl making racial comments seem to forget how america came to be, PPL FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD SEEKING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. SO IF YOUR NOT A NATIVE AMERICAN ( TO THE IGNORANT AN INDIAN) then this is not your country either.
10-08-2009 @ 2:18AM
Colette said...
Huh?????!!
10-15-2009 @ 3:44PM
originlcin said...
Obama was raised by his white mother on her own. I fail to see how the African-American community can take credit for his accomplishments.
10-07-2009 @ 3:38PM
Bob said...
Tom H Prove it!
Reply
10-07-2009 @ 11:13PM
redsoxloverswb said...
"Bob:" "Tom's" comment was a question, not a statement. It indicates that he appears (as you appear) to not believe that Obama is a racist, which, of course, is just plain ignorant! Your President, with his many years of attendance at radical racist Jeremiah Wright's "church," along with the overt bigotry shown by his uncalled-for knee-jerk reaction to the Gates/Crowley affair, proves unequivocally how much of a racist he is, without even referencing hateful remarks that he has made about members of his own family. He may be mixed-race, but he has obviously chosen the race he (along with his racist wife) has decided to go with! It's too bad - he could have used his position to try to bring an end to bigotry - instead, he has chosen to perpetuate it! What a waste!
10-07-2009 @ 3:43PM
Bob said...
Tom H. Prove it!
Reply