Chicago Tribune Nixed George Will Rape Op-Ed

Media Matters has the details:

The Chicago Tribune declined to run George Will’s controversial column on sexual assault, labeling it “misguided and insensitive.”

Will has been under fire following a column he wrote earlier this month about “the supposed campus epidemic of rape” and how some schools’ efforts to curb the problem “make victimhood a coveted status that confers privileges.” The column sparked outrage and calls for his removal from the Washington Post by prominent women’s rights groups, including the National Organization for Women and UltraViolet. Several U.S. senators have also criticized Will.

The Tribune, one of the largest papers in the country, told Media Matters that the paper turned Will’s column down after reading it.

In comments to Media Matters, Bruce Dold, editorial page editor of the Tribune, explained why his paper, which runs Will on occasion, passed on the June 7 column.

“I thought the column was misguided and insensitive,” Dold told Media Matters Thursday. “We didn’t publish it. Marcia Lythcott, the Op-Ed editor, made that decision and it was the right call.”

The paper has no plans to abandon Will permanently, however.

Will got unceremoniously dropped by the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch following reader complaints.

D.B. Hirsch

D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.