Drudge: ESPN censors Hunter Thompson column

Syrinx

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Mon May-24-04 05:41 PM
Original message

Drudge: ESPN censors Hunter Thompson column

ESPN SCRUBS HUNTER S. THOMPSON BUSH BASH
Monday May 24 2004 17:50:09 ET

Hunter S. Thompson's ESPN column was scrubbed of controversy late Monday afternoon when online editors worried the famed gonzo journalist had gone too far.

In a column entitled, "Let's Go to the Olympics," Thompson went off on the Abu Ghraib prison picture scandal, exclaiming: "Not even the foulest atrocities of Adolf Hitler ever shocked me so badly as these photographs did."

But after being linked to the DRUDGE REPORT, a top editor demanded the sentence be immediately edited --without Thompson's okay, according to an ESPN.com staffer.

"Hunter can go too far sometimes," the Bristol-based ESPN employee told the DRUDGE REPORT.

The cleansed paragraph now reads:

"These horrifying digital snapshots of the American dream in action on foreign soil are worse than anything even I could have expected. I have been in this business a long time and I have seen many staggering things, but this one is over the line.

As with the original, Thompson still concludes with the thought: "Now I am really ashamed to carry an American passport."

Developing...

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Emboldened Chimp

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Mon May-24-04 05:44 PM
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1. What did they expect from the good Doctor?

The guy once tried to write "Fuck the Pope" on the side of a boat, for Christ's sake. Of course he goes to far. That's what we love about him. Indeed.

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Egalitarian Zetetic

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Mon May-24-04 05:57 PM
Response to Reply #1

7. i agree with him on the pope sentiment as well as other superstitious

slave masters

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boobooday

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Mon May-24-04 05:45 PM
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2. GONZOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

He always did like to live dangerous. :yourock:

http://www.wgoeshome.com

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Sandpiper

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Mon May-24-04 05:46 PM
Response to Original message

3. No surprise here

ESPN is owned by Disney.

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troublemaker

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Mon May-24-04 05:50 PM
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4. An example of good editing

Edited on Mon May-24-04 05:52 PM by troublemaker

I don't know if they should have pulled the sentence, but it was a god idea to ask for a rewrite. His revision is much better and sort of moving. (I read the original piece earlier today and the line in question just sounded silly. I'm a big defender of comparing Bush to Hitler, but Abu Ghraib aint the Holocaust. In fact, the most horrible thing about Abu Ghraib was that the pictures weren't out of line with AMERICAN prisons.)

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Mojambo

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Mon May-24-04 05:56 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. I think the larger point he was making

Is that this abuse scandal is more offensive than Hitler by the very fact that it was committed by the supposed good guys. Us.

I'm not sure if I agree completely with that, but it is certainly a valid point that needs to be explored. It won't be, because the line was cut.

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ET Awful

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Mon May-24-04 05:53 PM
Response to Original message

5. I guess the fact that. . . .

of Hitler, foul atrocities are expected, of US soldiers they aren't bypassed the ESPN censors completely eh?

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jpgray

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Mon May-24-04 06:00 PM
Response to Original message

8. The idea is that from Hitler this is expected

I think it is long past time for Hunter to 'turn pro,' incidentally.

:D

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