Quick, more booboos from Belo

Dallas’ Only Daily Newspaper gets its share of criticism in these cyber-pages, but we try to be constructive. Everyone knows how much trouble The News and its parent, A.H. Belo, are in — sinking stock price, plunging revenues, layoffs and even dropping comic strips (predicted here in December, if I may be so bold). So the last thing Belo needs to do is to shoot itself in the foot.

But that’s what happened the other day in Quick, Belo’s tabloid aimed at younger people who don’t read newspapers. A humor columnist named Alibaster K. Abthernabther (which I’m told is a pen name for a real person) wrote a piece about having sex with Big Tex. At least that’s what I think it was about, because I’m not young and hip enough to understand the humor. Or at least that’s the explanation Quick editor Rob Clark is giving to some readers who have complained.

The piece is not just in poor taste, but it’s not funny (and this comes from someone who liked Monty Python’s Life of Brian). Wrote Abthernabther:

“I know most people would find my erotic interest disturbing, disgusting or even outright criminal. But they don't understand. They don't need to understand. I'm not just sexing your face, Big Tex. I'm sexing the face of the whole State Fair of Texas and everything it stands for.”

Bizarre, huh? There are also references to rape, bestiality, and exhibitionism. It’s at least as offensive as the infamous “We are the Weird” non-parody about famine that pretty much ended writer John Bloom’s career at the Dallas Times Herald (a copy of which, apparently, doesn’t exist on the Internet).

But you know what was more offensive? This email, which Clark sent to someone who complained about the piece. I’ve deleted the sender’s name and a couple of other details to protect the sender’s identity.

From: "Clark, Rob"

Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2008

Subject: your email to Quick

Mr. [      ],

Thanks for your e-mail. Quick is aimed at 18-34 year-olds. So you will see language, topics and style that you won’t see in other mainstream publications. The column in question is a humor column, and humor is incredibly subjective. I understand you don’t appreciate this brand of humor, and I can respect that. Thanks again for bringing your opinion to my attention. I appreciate the feedback.

Rob Clark

Quick editor

That’s an amazing reply -– arrogant and self-serving, and probably not the kind of thing Belo boss Robert Decherd wants to explain to his board of directors. “Hey, fellows, we’re going to bring the company back to profitability by writing about having sex with a statue.”

There’s a reason people don’t read newspapers any more. This is one of them.

Technorati Tags: A.H. Belo,Quick,Dallas Morning News,Big Tex

Comments

[DK]

It fails the most basic test of satire. If you're going to be provocative, you have got to be amusing.

[Farinata X]

Poor taste and not funny? Sounds like a Gordon Keith production.

[Norman Alston]

I wouldn't want to put my real name on that either.

[Christina Hughes-Babb]

That is embarrassing. And I’m not nearly as old as you Jeff (insert smiley face here). I must say I hear some Ticket (1310 FM) lingo in the prose and Gordon Keith, one of the radio station’s stars, writes a weekly column for Quick. Now Gordon is sheer genius on the radio — I love him dearly. And his columns are usually smartly hysterical too. But he often says shockingly inappropriate things on air (one of the reasons we listen). It’s funny then, because the rest of the guys go silent on him and later give him hell for saying whatever he said. But seeing this sort of thing on the printed page is entirely different. Seeing it on the page means someone (and I’m not saying it was Gordo – just that it sounds like something he might say) planned it out, thought it through and said to themselves, “yeah, this column about a dude forcing intercourse on a giant statue, and perhaps show dogs too is a good idea, let’s go with it.”

[Steve]

I don't find this even half as offensive as the idiotic comments that now accompany every story on dallasnews.com. The decision to turn every piece of journalism on the site into fodder for foolish "debate" is the nail in coffin of Belo's credibility for me.

[JaeTex]

Not his best work, but amusing.

What's is funnier though is the reaction the column and the editor's response is getting here.

If you read all the way to the second paragraph of the column and were offended, perhaps you should have stopped reading. If you have a complaint about the content after that point your ire should properly be targeted at your decision to keep reading. It reminds me of the joke about the little old lady complaining to the police about some young man whistling the tune to a dirty song.

And the editor's response was entirely appropriate. Here's what we were trying to do, we appreciate your input. Should he have offered to have been whipped down Main to show contrition for publishing something that wasn't deemed hilarious by all who read it?

Consistently publishing unchallenging pablum (and in my house anyway, the recent comic cull) is what is truly hurting the DMN.

[Craig]

This is what causes people to get all riled up? Really? A clearly satiric column written in a very anachronistic fashion in which the author writes a love (lust?) letter to a giant statue?

I like most of AA's work, although this particular piece didn't do much for me. Regardless, however, I side with JaeTex that Brown's response was entirely appropriate. What could he have done that wouldn't be OVER-reacting? Call for AA's head on a pike? Or go the other direction and tell the letter writer to loosen up? He accepted the input, thanked the writer for it, and correctly stated that this is a humor column and that not everyone thinks the same thing is funny.

And, Jeff, I like your work quite a bit, but I have to say that this post has you looking like a cross between Steve Blow and Andy Rooney. "These kids today, what with their rock music and mary-joo-wanna and burning draft cards and HEY! Get off my lawn!"

[Dallas Diner]

I can't think about something silly like this; I'm in deep mourning over the cuts to the comics page. The DMN has gutted the one area where it was better than most daily newspapers.

[Edie]

You know, I don't mind a little filth -- Okay, I don't mind even a LOT of filth - but this is just so sophomoric that it falls short of satire and isn't, well, funny OR filthy enough to stand on its own merits.