Chattanooga Times should Secede from Free Press

I submitted an article to an online newspaper, Chattanooga’s alternative to the biased Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Many years ago, Chattanooga used to have two newspapers, the Chattanooga Times and the Free Press. Then one day, a merger between the liberal and conservative paper occured and we ended up with the only newspaper in America with two opinion pages, one conservative, one liberal.

Well, the liberals are winning, after the conservative editor got fired, they haven’t bothered to replace them.

Which is why I wrote:

Chattanooga Times Should Secede From Free Press

Obviously it’s not going to happen, but I’m glad people have read it and visited this blog.

 

The Benefits of Porn.

This is the column by the fired Pro-Gun editor that the Chattanooga Times Free Press wouldn’t publish.

Here’s an excerpt:

“This link between an increase in web porn and a decrease in rape was first noted in 2006 by Clemson economist Todd Kendall. Kendall’s study, which was supported by the National Bureau of Economic Research, concluded that “Internet access appears to be a substitute for rape; in particular, the results suggest that a 10 percentage point increase in Internet access is associated with a decline in reported rape victimization of around 7.3 percent.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/03/the-benefits-of-internet-porn/#ixzz2awySALPQ

Drew Johnson @Drews_Views
“I was fired for writing an offensive headline by a paper that is featuring a headline about a dog eating a guy’s testicle — Not kidding.”

Pro-Gun Editor Fired. Part II.

 

Sometime ago I told you that Drew Johnson, the editor of the conservative side of the Chattanooga Times Free Press (yes, only newspaper in the country with two editorial pages) got fired.

The outcry has been huge, so CTFP has been forced to write an article about it.

“On Monday night, Johnson changed the approved headline on his Tuesday editorial from, “Keep your jobs plan to yourself, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough already” to “Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough.””
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/aug/02/times-free-press-responds-inaccuracies-coverage-dr/

No big deal, right? Who doesn’t love the song “Take this job and shove it, I ain’t working here no more.”? Clearly Drew rewrote the headline to make it better. Isn’t that the newspaper business? Better headlines to draw more readers? Not at CTFP, obviously.

“However, he waited until his editor had left for the day before changing the headline. That is a violation of our clear editing practice, and our trust.”

Nonsense! As Drew puts it: “Calling Obama “untouchable,” he claimed that if he had used the phrase in regards to another politician – there would not be the same outcry.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/editor-axe-telling-obama-shove-headline-article-1.1416006

“The language he chose was vulgar and not appropriate for this newspaper.”

Vulgar? Did they call Obama vulgar when he spoke of shovel-ready jobs? Did they call Theresa-Heinz Kerry “vulgar” when she told a reporter to shove it?

Of course, CTFP isn’t done.

“In fact the only instance when the Times Free Press ever denied Johnson the freedom to present his views was last week when he referred to pornography as a “miracle product” and touted the benefits of pornography stating that if teenagers watched pornography it would result in lower rates of teenage pregnancy.”

Here’s the kicker:
“This newspaper places high value on expressions of divergent opinion, but will not permit violations of its standards.”"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/08/01/obama-editor-chattanooga-free-press-headline-shove-it/2609565/

Really? You cover “Dog eats sleeping, paralyzed man’s testicle in Arkansas” yet claim to have standards?
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/aug/02/dog-eats-sleeping-paralyzed-mans-testicle-arkansas/

You’re in the newspaper business! The only standard should be driving readership so you can raise those advertising rates! Chattanooga isn’t Berkeley, LISTEN TO YOUR READERS.

At least a pro-pornography column would have challenged conventional thinking, not to mention dispelling the stereotype that every conservative hates porn, that’s far more interesting than a mutt biting nuts in Arkansas.

UPDATE:  “Johnson has a defender in Betsy Phillips of Nashville Scene, an alternative weekly. A liberal and two-time Obama voter, Phillips calls the headline “rude and unwelcoming,” but she argues there’s nothing wrong with being rude to the president: “He is not our king.” She thinks the Johnson-TFP dispute emblematic of a clash among Tennessee Republicans between “the brash folks who tell it like they see it” and “the folks who think putting on a polite, reasonable face is important.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324136204578643982827602900.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

 

Pro-Gun Editor Fired.

UPDATE: PRO-GUN EDITOR FIRED II https://sellingthesecondamendment.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/pro-gun-editor-fired-part-ii/

Drew Johnson was a conservative editor with some libertarian leanings. For example, he endorsed the Libertarian Party candidate over Romney, I disagreed with that because I hate endorsing people who can’t win. However, Drew was good about defending the Second Amendment occasionally (there were at least 3 anti-gun attacks for every one of Drew’s pro-gun columns). So this is what happened:

“Chattanooga Times Free Press officials said Thursday that Free Press editor Drew Johnson has been fired “after placing a headline on an editorial outside of normal editing procedures.”

The newspaper said, “Johnson’s headline, ‘Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough,’ appeared on the Free Press page Tuesday, the day President Barack Obama visited the city.

The headline was inappropriate for this newspaper. It was not the original headline approved for publication, and Johnson violated the normal editing process when he changed the headline. The newspaper’s decision to terminate Johnson had nothing to do with the content of the editorial, which criticized the president’s job creation ideas and Chattanooga’s Smart Grid. The Free Press page has often printed editorials critical of the president and his policies.

“The Chattanooga Times Free Press is unique in that it has two editorial pages, the conservative Free Press page and the liberal Times page. This newspaper places high value on expressions of divergent opinion, but will not permit violations of its standards.”
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/8/1/256161/Times-Free-Press-Fires-Editor-Drew-Johnson.aspx

Here’s what Drew had to say on TheBlaze.

“There were definitely some Obama supporters upset that I would dare criticize great leader,” he said. “But the majority of calls I got were overwhelmingly supportive…Most of Chattanooga is conservative.”He admitted that he is still “shocked” that he was fired for his opinion, which incorporated a “funny take” on the classic 1977 country song [Take this job and shove it]. Johnson also said his editorial, he believes, is now the most-read article in the paper’s history.“Not only what I wrote represented the viewpoint of most of the people that read my page, but it also brought more eyes to the paper and more opportunity for revenue,” he concluded. “It’s really surprising.”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/01/tennessee-newspaper-opinion-editor-says-hes-been-fired-for-writing-editorial-ripping-obamas-jobs-plan/