Georgia Editor Thinks Readers Will Mistake 'Doonesbury' as News
This week's controversial Doonesbury series follows a young woman who faces a mandatory sonogram as she tries to get an abortion, and among the multitude of reasons papers are giving for not running it, an Athens, Georgia, editor said he was afraid readers would mistake the fictional comic strip for actual news reporting. Georgia, you see, is considering legislation that would make abortions illegal more than 20 weeks after fertilization.
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Amid the various reasons Jim Romenesko collected from papers declining to run the strip -- the Rock Hill, South Carolina, Herald is "concerned about graphic content," the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner said the language wasn't appropriate for children -- The Athens, Georgia, Banner Herald gives its readers the absolute least amount of credit. Editor Jim Thompson writes:
Given that the Georgia General Assembly is considering an abortion bill — House Bill 954, sponsored by Rep. Doug McKillip, R-Athens, which would prohibit abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy — I made a unilateral decision not to publish the “Doonesbury” strips intended for publication this week. Quite simply, I thought there was a real possibility that readers might confuse the topic of this week’s “Doonesbury” with Georgia’s proposed abortion legislation, and I didn’t want to add any confusion to the ongoing concerns, pro and con, about House Bill 954.
