Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Highlighting H-S Editor Ashley (Post 3)

(Another in a post series highlighting Durham Herald Sun Editor Bob Ashley’s work. The series seeks to help you answer the question: Is Ashley the worst newspaper editor in America or does he just seem that way?)

Bob ("Paxton Owner Man") Ashley edits the H-S on both the news and editorial sides.

What's more, Ashley's one of those editors who thinks it's not enough for him to give you his opinions seven days a week in editorials, and let's admit it, often in the news columns.

Every Sunday Ashley publishes - yup - a Bob Ashley column complete with a picture of himself.

It's the kind of picture the leads readers who meet Ashley to later say to friends: "He's a much older man than I thought, and he needed his hair trimmed."

Anyway, last Friday, a massive civil rights suit was filed by attorneys for the three former Duke students who now even Duke's President, Richard ("Whatever they did was bad enough.") Brodhead, agrees were framed by some Durham officials and certain Durham Police officers and their superviisors.

Since Friday the suit filing has been "front-page" national news.

So what was Bob Ashley's column about this Sunday?

The suit? No, the comics!

I'm not kidding.

Ashley's Sunday Oct. 7 column began:

You may have noticed some unusual developments on the comics pages lately.

Two popular, long-time strips have been blazing new trails.
Now, folks, we all know how important comics are to many newspaper readers. The comics and the crossword puzzle are the first newspaper places my wife turns to.

But for the editor of Durham's only daily newspaper to use his Sunday column to discuss the comics just two days after his city, the former DA and top police officials were hit with a lawsuit that many legal experts say will uncover criminal activity is ... well, it's the sort of thing Bob Ashley does.

That's why many people believe he the worst newspaper editor in America.

Ashely ended his comic column with:
Let me know what you think of these long-running strips' new focus and direction.
You bet, Bob.

Ashley's entire comic column is here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Ashley's entire comic column is here"

I'm feeling impishly like asking whether "comic column" refers to a column about comics, or a column which, in by ignoring the elephant in the room, has made itself comical...

Anonymous said...

Whenever Bob Ashley opens his mouth the amount of knowledge on a particular subject mater goes down. He might as well discuss comics where he can do no real harm.

Anonymous said...

Sorta reminds me of the line Billy Madison where the principal tells Billy that we are all more stupid for listening to him.

Anonymous said...

Could it have been a hint that he plans to edit the comics also in the near future?

wayne fontes said...

Hard hitting fact based journalism abounds in the triangle. That column measures up to the N&O's discussion about the color of their Ampersand.