The Tennessean newspaper has apologized for publishing a full-page advertisement from an end-times prophecy group that announced “Islam is going to detonate a nuclear device in Nashville.”
The ad didn’t meet the paper’s standards against hate speech and should have been rejected, said Kevin Gentzel, the chief revenue officer of the paper’s parent company, Gannett.
But once we realized we could print an apology in the next edition, we took the money and published it anyway, he added.
I know advertising revenue has dried up, but damn, this does not belong in a Gannett newspaper. Put it in a tabloid next to a story about Batboy.
Newspaper ads. How quaint.
So … did anyone in the editing dept. go to journalism school? Umm, is /was there a “Trump School of Journalism” ever?
If they’re really sincere in their apology, donate the money to a mosque in Nashville or to a community food bank. Racist jerks.
Yeah, the group paid money for something they could have gotten more efficiently disseminated for free. Of course, it is all over the web now so maybe that was their intention – very clever!!
It says July 18…
That was my question as well. I do try to keep up with things.
WTF is wrong with these people? RIP Journalism, We Hardly Knew Ye!
They will mumble something about a misinterpretation of the Bible caused by someone else’s actions and move on to the next fear-mongering campaign. Stupid people and organizations can never admit they were wrong.
“We strongly condemn the message and apologize to our readers.”
“…Everyone knows the bomb will go off in Bowling Green, KY, and the only threat to TN is from weak fallout.”
The journalists don’t work with the ads. Of course the business side should have asked themselves if this ad was appropriate but obviously they didn’t find the right answer.
Because Tennessee.
"We are immediately investigating to determine how this could have happened,”
Gosh…It’s almost like white nationalist/supremacy groups have members infiltrated everywhere…hmmmmm…
They lost me at “backslidden.”
Oh, and the whole the Bible says “Islam” is going to nuke Nashville thing.
The business side handles the ads. With the drastic cuts to staff it’s entirely possible nobody on the editorial side is assigned to look at them at all closely.
That said, there must be an extremely limited number of hands this ad must have passed through before being printed. How complicated can this “investigation” be?
In an unrelated development, the Tennessee Department of Health has released a statement
There is no LSD in Tennessee drinking water. Absolutely none, and when we say none, we mean there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit, but the Governor’s Office will provide more details.
The ad didn’t meet the paper’s standards against hate speech and should have been rejected, said Kevin Gentzel, the chief revenue officer of the paper’s parent company, Gannett.
And we still have space in next Sunday’s edition for ads that we should have rejected. Great rates! Full Color available! Call Kevin Gentzel today!