UPDATE: Several papers explain decision to keep publishing Coulter; two newspapers added to list

Several newspapers that publish right-wing pundit Ann Coulter's syndicated column recently announced their intention to continue publishing her column after remarks Coulter made on March 2 at the Conservative Political Action Conference. During her speech at the conference, Coulter referred to Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) as a “faggot.” To date, nine newspapers have been confirmed as having dropped Coulter's column since her remarks. In addition, Media Matters for America has added two newspapers -- Stars and Stripes, a daily published for the U.S. military community, and The Morning Journal of Lorain, Ohio -- to its list (below) of papers that publish Coulter's weekly column.

Four newspapers have recently run or posted explanations by editors of their decision to continue running Coulter's column (in addition to those previously noted by Media Matters): The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois; The Robesonian of Lumberton, North Carolina; the Times-Union of Warsaw, Indiana; and The Marshall News Messenger of Marshall, Texas. All four had been included on a list published by Media Matters on March 8 of daily newspapers that carried Coulter's column. In explaining their decision to keep Coulter, these newspapers' editors cited reader support and invoked free speech and censorship concerns, among other reasons.

Jamison Foser, Media Matters' managing director, recently addressed criticism by columnist Steve Young on the Huffington Post website accusing Media Matters of attempting to deny Coulter her First Amendment right to free speech.

Another newspaper, The Southern Illinoisan of Carbondale, Illinois, recently confirmed that it will continue publishing Coulter's column, but less frequently than it had in the past. In an April 3 email to Media Matters, publisher Dennis DeRossett said that the Illinoisan will instead run a rotation of conservative columnists -- including Coulter -- in Coulter's old slot, “with no set frequency for any one columnist.” He also noted that the newspaper had recently replaced Molly Ivins' regular column with a rotation of liberal columnists. DeRossett added: “While the timing of this move appears to some to have coincided with the recent controversy with Ann's column, it is strictly coincidental.”

In a March 14 email to Media Matters, Brooks Bowers, Stars and Stripes opinion editor of the paper's Pacific edition, confirmed that Coulter's column runs in the Pacific, European, and Middle East editions of the newspaper, but that it runs the column of Huffington Post co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington on the same day “to balance out Coulter.”

The following is an updated version of a list Media Matters published on March 13 of daily newspapers that carry Coulter's column:

Newspaper

State

Editor

Contact

(Palmdale) Antelope Valley Press

CA

Jana Treece

editor@avpress.com

Pasadena Star-News

CA

Steve O'Sullivan

steve.osullivan@sgvn.com

(West Covina) San Gabriel Valley Tribune

CA

Steve Scauzillo

letters.tribune@sgvn.com

Whittier Daily News

CA

Linda Beckman

letters.tribune@sgvn.com

(Yreka) Siskiyou Daily News

CA

Jean Smith

editor@siskiyoudaily.com

(Jacksonville) The Florida Times-Union

FL

Patrick A. Yack

pat.yack@jacksonville.com

The St. Augustine Record

FL

Jim Sutton

editor@staugustinerecord.com

The Villages Daily Sun

FL

Larry Croom

larry.croom@
thevillagesmedia.com

(Canton) Cherokee Tribune

GA

Barbara Jacoby

bjacoby@cherokeetribune.com

Marietta Daily Journal

GA

Joe Kirby

letters@mdjonline.com

(Twin Falls) Times-News

ID

David Cooper

http://www.magicvalley.com/

(Bloomington) Pantagraph

IL

Bill Wills

letters@pantagraph.com

(Carbondale) The Southern Illinoisian

IL

James Bennett

james.bennett@
thesouthern.com

(Joliet) The Herald News

IL

Bill Wimbiscus

heraldnews@scn1.com

(Springfield) The State Journal-Register

IL

Mike Matulis

mike.matulis@sj-r.com

(Gary) The Post-Tribune

IN

Paulette Haddix

editor@post-trib.com

(Warsaw) Times-Union

IN

Gary Gerard

news@timesuniononline.com

Bastrop Daily Enterprise

LA

Mark Rainwater

mrainwater@
bastropenterprise.com

(Jackson) The Clarion Ledger

MS

David Hampton

dhampton@clarionledger.com

(Lumberton) The Robesonian

NC

Donnie Douglas

dbdouglas@carolina.net

(Gallup) Independent

NM

Darrel Beehner

ga11p1nd@cnetco.com

Elko Daily Free Press

NV

Jeffry Mullins

editor@elkodaily.com

Las Vegas Review-
Journal

NV

John Kerr

JKerr@reviewjournal.com

Lancaster Eagle-
Gazette

OH

Antionette Taylor-Thomas

ataylort@nncogannett.com

(Lorain) The Morning Journal

OH

Thomas Skoch

tskoch@morningjournal.com

(Mansfield) News Journal

OH

Carl Hunnell

chunnell@nncogannett.com

The Lawton Constitution

OK

David Hale

paper@sirinet.net

(Greensburg) Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review

PA

Colin McNickle

cmcnickle@tribweb.com

(Uniontown) Herald-
Standard

PA

Paul Sunyak

psunyak@heraldstandard.com

(Wilkes-
Barre) Times-
Leader

PA

Jean LaCoe

jlacoe@timesleader.com

The Denton Record-
Chronicle

TX

Mike Trimble

mtrimble@dentonrc.com

Marshall News Messenger

TX

Phil Latham

platham@coxmnm.com

(New Braunfels) Herald-
Zeitung

TX

Douglas Toney

news@herald-zeitung.com

Plainview Daily Herald

TX

Kevin Lewis

1kevin@
plainviewdailyherald.com

Waco Tribune-Herald

TX

John Young

jyoung@wacotrib.com

(Harrisonburg) Daily News-
Record

VA

Peter Yates

pyates@dnronline.com

(St. Johnsbury) The Caledonian- Record

VT

Dana Gray

grayd@caledonian-record.com

Watertown Daily Times

WI

John McFadden

news1@wdtimes.com

(West Bend) Daily News

WI

Jill Badzinski

dailynews@conleynet.com

Casper Star-Tribune

WY

Clark Walworth

clark.walworth@
casperstartribune.net

Stars and Stripes

Brooks Bowers

letters@stripes.osd.mil