The Daily Telegraph Says Sorry. To Stalin.
Well we didn't see this one coming.
Wow. So The Daily Telegraph are kind of just being jerks now.
The paper published a pretty offensive front cover yesterday, featuring a goofy image of Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy alongside a bunch of infamous despots, with the headline ‘Conroy Joins Them’. (For those who missed it, the paper and their parent company, News Limited, were responding to Conroy’s proposed changes to media legislation). Journalism!
They took it a step further inside the paper, depicting Conroy as Stalin through some genius Photoshop work.
And now this morning they’ve published an apology for making the comparison. An apology to Stalin.
Full text below:
YESTERDAY we ran a picture of Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy depicted as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
It has since been pointed out that this was a grossly unfair and insulting comparison to make. And so we would just like to say: We’re sorry, Joe.
Yes, it is true that Stalin was a despicable and evil tyrant who was responsible for the death of many millions.
However, at least he was upfront in his efforts to control the media instead of pretending he supported free speech and then suggesting that cheeky, satirical or provocative newspaper coverage might be against the law. We also note that, despite his well-documented crimes against humanity, Stalin at least managed to hold a government together for more than three years.
Nonetheless, we pay tribute to our new Commissar Conroy and stand ready to write and publish whatever he instructs us to.