When the Minneapolis alt-weekly selected crystal meth as the "Best Cheap Thrill" in its annual "Best of the Twin Cities" issue, the usual suspects lined up to express their outrage, including talk-radio hosts, local TV reporters, health officials, politicians, and irate readers. Editor Steve Perry's first instinct was to stand by the blurb, explaining in an editor's note that it was a joke that was intended to make the point "that it's possible to make entirely too much of the drug hype of the hour--unless you're in radio or television, of course." But after being pounded for twelve hours, Perry issued an apology, saying that he was chastened by "a lot of comments and e-mails ... from readers who've seen the lives of loved ones wrecked or ended by meth."

Continue ReadingCity Pages Takes a Pounding Over Meth Joke

"We don't consider the Arkansas Times a news organization," explained Gov. Mike Huckabee's spokesperson when she was asked why the newspaper had been taken off the e-mail list used to disseminate public information to the media. On the Times' blog, Editor Max Brantley writes: "The governor has decided to punish us for our opinions by withholding a publicly financed service. We don't think this practice can stand legal scrutiny and we intend to review our options in that regard." Huckabee (pictured) is widely considered to be a candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency.

Continue ReadingGovernor Removes Arkansas Times From Media List