Following a vociferous e-mail protest campaign from many thousands of people, Maxim magazine issued a carefully-worded apology for an article in its February issue that depicted Mahatma Gandhi being beaten, kicked and bloodied, in a fitness feature. <p>"We apologize if our cartoon depicting Mahatma Gandhi in the February 2003 issue of Maxim was interpreted as offensive," said editor-in-chief Keith Blanchard's apology, which characterised the three-page feature and its 23 computer-generated color illustrations as a 'cartoon'. <p>"An edgy sense of humour, laced with irony, has always been a central element of Maxim's editorial," Blanchard's note continued. "For some people, this piece may have gone one step too far."<p>"We at Maxim do, in fact, believe in Gandhi's teachings of peace. In fact, we chose Gandhi as the subject of our workout cartoon specifically because he is the least likely target of aggression imaginable. No offense was intended to anyone," the apology said putting an interesting spin on why it chose Gandhi for the feature. (Rediff.com)<p>***Oh, come on. Maxim, of course, is not a journalistic enterprise, but this nonstop wave of contrition over everything that someone, somewhere, objects to has got to stop. Some publications, of course, are "offensive" to attract attention ( which Maxim, I understand, often is), but most editorial apologies are unnecessary and usually issued just to shut up oversensitive complainers. Let what you publish speak for itself. If you make an error, correct it forthrightly, Don't apologize. No one really believes you're sorry anyhow.***<p>[ February 03, 2003: Message edited by: blanp ]</p>
|