DID ANCHORAGE PRESS GO TOO FAR?
A recent front page of the Anchorage Press had a prominent illustration of sexual bondage, and talk show host Amy Demboski asked her friends on Facebook if putting that cover at eye level for children in the entry of Three Bear Market in Birchwood (and presumably elsewhere in the Valley) was really a good idea.
Three Bear management removed the offensive papers as soon as it was alerted to the problem (they follow social media), and Demboski took the post down from her Facebook feed and let readers know that the store was very responsive to the matter. She was gracious.
But then the Anchorage Press escalated the matter.
Frontiersman and Anchorage Press Publisher Dennis Anderson posted a long complaining editorial in the Anchorage Press about Demboski, saying she could have just talked to management of the store, rather than taking her complaints public. After all, that’s the way to handle complaints, he said, seemingly unaware that he was doing exactly what he accused her of doing — taking his complaint into the public arena.
Anderson evidently missed the point that Demboski was trying to make, and he was awkwardly defending the coarsening of culture and the effect it has on all of our children.
He didn’t stop there. Anderson went after Facebook commenters, too:
“One commenter on Demboski’s Facebook page in reference to the risqué photo stated that parents shouldn’t have to explain that photo to their children. For starters, I doubt that a child heading into a store would have anything else on their minds except, “I wonder what mommy is going to buy me?” I doubt they would want an explanation about a photo on a newspaper or a poster with a photo of an assault rifle. But using children to make your point is always a shrewd tactic.”
And then he quoted the Bible.
In this era of epidemic sexual assault against women, we ask readers:
Who’s right? In this skirmish between Amy Demboski and the Anchorage Press publisher, do you have an opinion? Comment below or send your thoughts to [email protected]
