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New York, 9th March 2005 (CNA)
- Jeff Koyen, editor of the controversial
alternative New York weekly, the New York Press
quit rather than accept a two week suspension over
the paper’s recent cover story, “the 52 Funniest
things about the Upcoming Death of the
Pope.”
The story, written by columnist Matt
Taibbi, has received immense amounts of criticism
from Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
In a statement on the web site “Gawker”,
Koyen blasted the paper’s owner and publisher over
the suspension, saying that the paper is
“iconoclastic, occasionally obnoxious but always
intelligent. If you see through the nasty Pope
jokes, for instance, you will see a well-reasoned
political argument.”
Others aren’t so sure.
Senator Chuck Schumer called the story “The
most disgusting thing I've seen in 30 years of
public life."
A representative of New York’s mayor
Michael Bloomberg added, “As disgusting as this
is, it's sadly par for the course for this
publication.”
Brian Saint-Paul, editor of Crisis Magazine
called the piece “a nauseating list of almost
unimaginably offensive items” and added that the
New York Press is “exceptional only in the sheer
number of New Yorkers who consider it
garbage.” |
