Editor’s Note
Back in the old days — that’s less than a decade and before there were such things as blogs and interactive conversations with readers — editors used to respond to their newspaper readers with an “editor’s note.” Sometimes it clarified a point made in a letter to the editor. Sometimes it offered a correction. Sometimes it was just a simple explanation. An editor’s note was a handful of sentences; maybe a four or five paragraphs. It was always a personal link between the editor and the reader. Only difference between it and today’s blog is the immediacy and the platform. Welcome to Editor’s Note.

Archive for November 6th, 2009

The clothes are back on

18 comments November 6th, 2009

Sometimes I just love a tempest in a teapot. Takes my mind off the serious issues I deal with everyday. Occasionally it’s fun to get all pseudo-excited about not much. So, when Jeremy’s parents took their clothes off in the Zits strip, well, I pulled it, sent nasty-grams to the syndicate and cartoonists.

Zits is back on Sunday.

OK, yes, I was sorta serious. Some of our readers were just nuts over naked cartoon characters and didn’t “get it” that the strip was riffing off the fat cherubs of “Love Is…” fame. But, really, as I told the syndicate rep, I just don’t have time for dumb stuff. Put the clothes back on.

Bless the folks at King Features. The responded seriously and well. This from comics editor Brendan Burford:

“Hello Linda, John Killian alerted me to the unfortunate feedback you’ve been receiving about the recent ZITS comic strips. As you and John both noted, you never know what might touch a nerve with readers, and I apologize for the grief you’ve experienced as a result of the naked cherub-like LOVE IS… parodies featured in ZITS this week.

“We felt that many Americans know the characters from the LOVE IS… feature and that this was a fair parody. We also felt that the nudity of the characters in the ZITS strips was no more gratuitous than the cherubs in the original feature, and decided to allow the strips through. I assure you we did consider these strips, both from a legal stand point (the parody) and a taste stand point (the nudity) before allowing them through the pipeline.

“To my knowledge, out of the 1,600+ newspapers that ZITS appears in, your readers are the only ones who have had such a problem with the depiction. That said, these complaints don’t always reach my desk.

“The ZITS creators, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman are at the very top of their profession and we’re proud of how many people relate to, laugh with and are touched by their strip everyday. I know you can expect to see only the very best quality from them for many years to come. Although some readers may have been bent out of shape over these couple of strips, the joy and laughter ZITS brings readers throughout the year can’t be measured. It frustrates me that sometimes the noise made by a dissenting few can eclipse the overwhelming number of people who find something truly wonderful on a daily basis.”

I say, well said. Now, back to seeing what other mischief is happening in the comics.