Originally published in 2004 as a one-time spoof, Gustavo Arellano's "Ask a Mexican" has taken on a life of its own, landing the 27-year-old reporter and editor a regular gig on a right-wing talk radio show as well as the front page of today's Los Angeles Times. In his weekly column, Arellano answers the kind of frank questions about Mexican stereotypes (e.g., "Why do Mexicans put on their Sunday best to shop at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc.?") that aren't normally asked in polite society. According to the Times, he gets away with it because his writing is "historically and culturally accurate" and "imbued with affection for Mexican immigrants." But not everyone is thrilled. OC Weekly Editor Will Swaim tells the Times he still fields the occasional call or e-mail demanding that Arellano be fired.

Continue ReadingOC Weekly’s ‘Ask a Mexican’ Pushes PC Boundaries

On the JFP blog "Noise," Editor Donna Ladd noted similarities between a Marshall Ramsey cartoon in Jackson's The Clarion-Ledger and a Darren Schwindaman cartoon published in JFP two weeks earlier. Both play on the Brokeback Mountain catch phrase, "I wish I knew how to quit you" to comment on Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's veto of a tobacco tax. Ladd wrote, "We appreciate the compliment, Marshall, but a note of appreciation would have sufficed."

Continue ReadingJackson Free Press Sees Imitation in Clarion-Ledger Cartoon

Jim Mullin (pictured) drew criticism for a Feb. 2 cover story containing a recipe for methamphetamine, but New Times General Manager Bob Rucker told the San Luis Obispo Tribune that the meth story didn't precipitate his resignation. "There was a problem knowing the audience," Rucker said. Until his resignation Friday, Mullin was working for the California weekly from his home in Miami Beach. He was previously the editor of Miami New Times, but resigned in 2005 shortly after the suicide of former city official Arthur Teele, whose alleged involvement with a transvestite prostitute was exposed in a Miami New Times cover story. (Unlike the Miami paper, SLO New Times is not part of the New Times/Village Voice Media chain.)

Continue ReadingSan Luis Obispo New Times Editor Resigns