A controversy has erupted over the firing of a North Country newspaper editor. Tim McCarthy was dismissed from the Littleton Courier last week. His supporters believe he was fired for editorializing against the U.S. war on terrorism. The courier?s publishers deny the charge. NHPR?s Trish Anderton reports.
TIM MCCARTHY WAS THE EDITOR OF THE LITTLETON COURIER FOR ALMOST EIGHT YEARS. HE SAYS LAST WEEK HE LOST HIS JOB ABRUPTLY AND UNCEREMONIOUSLY ? WHEN THE PUBLISHER OF THE PAPER HANDED HIM A LETTER INFORMING HIM HE WAS FIRED. MCCARTHY SAYS THE NEITHER THE LETTER NOR THE PUBLISHER TOLD HIM WHY.
12 12 118 I asked him during htat interview what cause was. He said in nh you don?t have to have a cause. He said, if I were to give a cause, it would be insubordination.
MCCARTHY SAYS HE?S CLASHED WITH HIS BOSS ON ONLY TWO ISSUES. ONE IS THE NUMEROUS EDITORIALS HE WROTE AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON TERRORISM. IN A RECENT PIECE, HE COMPARED BOMBING AN IMPOVERISHED AFGHANISTAN ? TO BEATING UP ON YOUR GRANDMOTHER.
13 202 I don?t think you have to decimate a country to try to bring a few people to justice, and in point in fact they havent brought anyone to justice. The people they wanted are still out there, and I think it was the wrong approach being used in the wrong way.
THE OTHER WAS THE PUBLISHER?S DECISION TO STOP RUNNING THE WORK OF EDITORIAL CARTOONIST MIKE MARLAND. MARLAND RECENTLY GOT INTO SOME CONTROVERSY OF HIS OWN WITH A CARTOON SHOWING PRESIDENT BUSH FLYING AN AIRPLANE INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. THE TWIN TOWERS WERE LABELED SOCIAL SECURITY. MCCARTHY?S BOSSES SAID THE MOVE TO DROP THE CARTOONIST WAS PURELY ECONOMIC. BUT MCCARTHY THOUGHT IT WAS POLITICAL, AND SAID HE?D CONTINUE RUNNING MARLAND, EVEN IF HE HAD TO PAY THE CARTOONIST OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET. THE NEXT DAY, HE WAS FIRED. THE COURIER IS PUBLISHED BY THE SALMON PRESS, WHICH OWNS EIGHT OTHER NEW HAMPSHIRE WEEKLIES INCLUDING THE COOS COUNTY DEMOCRAT AND THE FRANKLIN TELEGRAM. PUBLISHER RICH PIATT SAYS THE COMPANY WON?T GET INTO THE DETAILS BEHIND THE DISMISSAL.
in this case there were some issues that we just prefer to keep internal. I can tell you why it wasn?t, which is it ahd nothing to do with his editorial viewpoint or the tone of his editorials or anything else.
PIATT SAYS THE FIRING IS ALSO UNRELATED TO THE FLAP OVER MIKE MARLAND?S CARTOONS. HE CALLS MCCARTHY?S DISMISSAL A NON-STORY THAT?S BEEN HYPED BY THE LOCAL PRESS.
our job is to report the news not create the news, I?ve lived by that all my life. And I think in this case they created the news. Yknow, I can?t give my side of the story, but tim mccarthy can, so it?s a story.
LOCAL SUPPORTERS LIKE ANN MARIE O?BRIEN HAVE ORGANIZED DEMONSTRATIONS ON MCCARTHY?S BEHALF. O?BRIEN, A HOMEMAKER AND FORMER CO-DIRECTOR OF THE LOCAL HOSPICE, SAYS THE COMMUNITY LOST AN IMPORTANT VOICE WHEN MCCARTHY WAS FIRED.
he didn?t just print his editorials, he printed many guest columns which argued with his editorials and argued with what people wrote in. / people looked forward to the paper so they could get more information, and develop an informed opinion.
SOME DEMONSTRATORS HAVE CRITICIZED THE PAPER FOR STIFLING FREE SPEECH. BUT BOB STEELE, DIRECTOR OF THE ETHICS PROGRAM AT THE POYNTER INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN ST. PETERSBURG FLORIDA, SAYS NEWSPAPER OWNERS HAVE RIGHTS TOO.
The editorials of a newspaper shd reflect the veiws of those who run the paper. I can?t imagine the owner of a paper having editorials that significantly and regularly run counter to the owner?s viewpoint.
IDEALLY, STEELE SAYS, EDITORS AND OWNERS WHO DISAGREE FIND A WAY TO WORK OUT THEIR DIFFERENCES SO NOBODY GETS FIRED. O?BRIEN?S NEXT DEMONSTRATION IS PLANNED FOR THIS SATURDAY. MEANWHILE, THE SALMON PRESS IS ADVERTISING MCCARTH Y?S POSITION IN NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE STATE. FOR NHPR NEWS I?M
