Editor: Newsroom wasn’t responsible for ‘Fry Rice’ poster
Dana Gray, editor of the Caledonian-Record in St. Johnsbury, VT, was quick to tell me this afternoon that he wasn’t responsible for his paper’s “Fry Rice” poster.
(Credit: Paul Lamontagne)
“It was the production side,” he says. “This wasn’t a function of the editorial side.”
What did he think about the poster?
“I’d just as soon stay out of it.”
Gray, who joined the 9,500-circulation paper in 1994 and was named editor in 2008, tells Romenesko readers that “the feedback has been social media pretty much. I’ve taken no calls from readers. I believe there may have been one letter to the editor.”
By the way, Rice wasn’t fried on Thursday night; the basketball team won 48-40 in overtime.
AS A SIDE NOTE… I got a good scolding this morning from Mark M. Smith. He wrote:
I have just opened my e-mail and found a message from you. I went to your blog and found a reference to contacting the publisher of the Caledonian-Record. You have not done so.
As a trained journalist, University of Missouri School of Journalism, 1972, Newhouse School of Communication, Syracuse University, 1973, it is basic to have accurate information before you start asking questions. I am NOT publisher of the Caledonian-Record and have not been for 3 years. I am the corporate president of The Caledonian-Record Publishing Company Inc, the owner of The Caledonian-Record, The Orleans County Record, The Littleton Record, The Lancaster Record and The Woodsville Record. I am also semi-retired and a resident of Bulverde, Texas. I will adress [sic] any issues you may have with any of these publications when I return to Vermont in late June.
Thank you and have a good day.
Mark M. Smith
Dear Mr. Smith: I’m sorry I interrupted your semi-retirement with my email, but I went to your newspaper’s Contact Us section yesterday and this is what I found: Mark M. Smith, publisher.
UPDATE: The newspaper updated its Contact Us page after I posted this. Here’s how it looked until late Friday afternoon.
* Racist or tasteless? Sign supporting team draws national criticism (wptz.com)
* The paper will have an editorial about the poster in Saturday’s paper (burlingtonfreepress.com)
* Earlier: WTF were they thinking with “Fry Rice” poster is right! (jimromenesko.com)
