A former PPH journalist, Justin Ellis expressed his own outrage over the paper's "gutlessness."
http://meatraffle.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/journalism-fail-why-the-portland-press-heralds-apology-for-covering-ramadan-is-wrong/Journalism Fail: Why the Portland Press Herald’s apology for covering Ramadan is wrong
How exactly did “A show of faith and forgiveness” turn into an apology? Gutlessness.
Readers of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram may have been surprised to find an open letter from Publisher Richard Conner yesterday (and today), offering an apology for a story that appeared in print and online.
Was it a grossly inaccurate story? A clear violation of the paper’s standards and practices? Did it perpetrate a crime against the community?
No. They published a story and photos on Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan. And thanks to the date, Sept. 11, that drove some people into hysterics.
In his letter Connor apologized to readers for showing a lack of sensitivity and not balancing their coverage with 9/11 events.
Unfortunately what Connor’s done is created a self-inflicted wound to his newspaper. By apologizing for a factual story portraying part of the community it covers, the Press Herald has damaged its ability to educate, betrayed the journalists who work there, alienated a part of their audience and shown that editorial control can be won by the power of the mob.
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