Enter
of ostensible adults. Some of the
terms deployed by Morgan (such
as “twat” and “cunt”) were words
whose usage in print have long
been governed by the vagaries of
internal style guides. But Morgan,
momentarily confusing the person
under whom she works with a person she supervised, also referred to
Nuzzi as a “slutbag.”
This was a new challenge, because “slutbag” is not an obscenity
per se (though it is really mean).
Talking Points Memo obviously
gave its story the “warts and all”
treatment. In relating that story,
we did the same, under the assumption that you could handle it.
Gawker put “slutbag” in its headline (along with many other choice
terms) and Gothamist did the same,
though it opted to render “fucking”
as “f--king.” The word “slutbag” is
the only word the New York Post
didn’t shy away from censoring in
its headline and copy. The New York
Daily News did the same in the
body of its article, while referring to
the incident as a “profanity-laced
rant” in its headline.
At the New York Observer, where
there’s “nothing sacred but the
truth,” Politicker reporter Jill Colvin used the word “slutbag.” The
New York Times, where “all the
LOOKING FORWARD
IN ANGST
HUFFINGTON
08.11.13
news that’s fit to print” gets printed, opted out of the