Opera, 'Pro-Life', not 'Anti-Abortion'

Reuters ^ | 03/05/04 | Dan Whitcomb

[Maigret]

Opera 'Pro-Life', Not 'Anti-Abortion'

Dan Whitcomb

A Los Angeles Times music critic who wrote that a Richard Strauss opera was "pro-life" -- meaning a celebration of life -- was stunned to pick up the paper and find his review changed by a literal-minded copy editor to read "anti-abortion."

Music critic Mark Swed said the copy editor was adhering to a strict Times policy banning the phrase "pro-life" as offensive to people who support abortion, and didn't seem to realize that the epic Strauss opera "Die Frau Ohne Schatten" had nothing to do with that politically charged issue.

"Its about children who aren't born yet screaming to be born -- not abortion," Swed said. "Somebody who didn't quite get it got a little bit too politically correct ... and we had a little breakdown in communications."

The Times ran a correction the following day, Feb. 25, irking Swed further because it suggested that the mistake was his. The paper then issued a second correction making clear that he was not responsible. But the second note violated another Times policy -- this one against identifying the person at fault -- which prompted a memo from Jamie Gold, the paper's readers representative. That memo, which first surfaced on the L.A. Observed Web site, admonished reporters: "Corrections will not assign blame"

Swed said he was satisfied with the second correction and gratified that top-level editors moved quickly when the mistake was discovered.

[Maigret]

Just in case you thought they couldn't get any more ridiculous.

[stylin_geek]

So, in the LA Times world, it is okay to be "pro-choice" but not "pro-life." Disgusting.

[DeuceTraveler]

I live in '1984' now it would seem.

[longtermmemmory]

talk about proving up orwell.

forbid the term and the concept dies with it.


Why are newspapers still around. This stuff makes papers meaningless.

[johnny7]

I head this story on Rush yesterday. It is sooo Orwellian! I can picture the ardent, pimple-faced little communist using spell-check to 'cleanse' the article. Makes me wanna puke!

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

A comedy of politically-correct errors.

[avg_freeper]

All the people responsible for the correction of the first correction have now been sacked.

[Dianna]

We rented Holy Grail a couple of weeks ago because my oldest son had never seen it. One of my favorite movies, but imagine my shock and surprise when I finally noticed the "moose bit my sister" line. I thought I'd die laughing! I had no idea where that had come from.

[nkycincinnatikid]

Its about children who are not born yet screaming to be born--not abortion", Swed said. Huh? Methinks the proofreader who labeled Strauss' work anti-abortion will be fired for stumbling on the truth.

[Happygal]

As a journalist, a couple of things about this strike me as 'odd'.

For a start, an Opera review where the sub-editor would pick up on the 'pro-life' comment for headline purposes?

Secondly, I've worked in a few newsrooms, and on contentious issues have been consulted before my opinion has been 'sanitised'

Thirdly, why wasn't this solved in the newsroom? I mean...two written and printed apologies? Sounds more like a conflict of personalities than anything else.

I mean! This was an opera review - not the breaking of a major front page scandal.

[livius]

If you're a lib, you're like a truffle-sniffing pig when it comes to your favorite issues. You can find them no matter how deep they're buried. Even if they're phantom truffles, as in this case.

[Maigret]

If you're a lib, you're like a truffle-sniffing pig when it comes to your favorite issues

The mental image this conjures is priceless!

[Happygal]

''If you're a lib''

I take it you are referring to the article, and not me. Just for clarification.

[Roberts]

A bastion of journalistic integrity, the LA Times