Great Moments in Journalism: Don't Upset the Advertisers

While I might be an NPR geek, I don't have much affection for "Click and Clack," otherwise known as Tom and Ray Magliozzi, those Massachusetts brothers whose "Car Talk" program is a mainstray of NPR. With their scratchy-voiced prattle and incessant laughter at their own jokes, a peculiar Rip Taylor-meets-Joe Pesci vibe, the Magliozzis are the only people I've ever heard who can actually mug over a car radio. Give me "The Splendid Table's" Lynne Rossetto Kasper any day, and not only because she sounds as if the perfect riesling might just trigger her G-spot.

That said, it is lamer than lame that Click and Clack's syndicated column was dropped by a Norfolk, Virginia, newspaper because of complaints from auto dealers.

Editor & Publisher reports the column cancellation was confirmed by Virginian-Pilot president and publisher Dee Carpenter:

"The president/publisher emphasized that the key to the dropping decision was that the column appeared in an advertiser-supported automotive section ... that's basically produced for car dealers. Other sections of the paper can publish material that might upset advertisers, said Carpenter.

" 'We have run stories critical of the automotive industry,' he told E&P. 'And the business section ran a story about how to buy a home without using a Realtor. Some Realtors were upset, but that's life.' "

Gosh almighty, I mean, it's not like a paper needs to go make a habit out of being independent-minded. Criminy.