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