Despite the newspaper’s efforts to balance serious news with humor, readers haven’t been laughing recently.
They’ve been fuming.
Humor columnist Jeff Kramer chose the debut of the film “Pearl Harbor” as a launching point for his May 25 column, poking fun at, among other things, the “Greatest Generation.”
Dozens of readers from the generation that lived through World War II objected.
Local veterans who won medals for their actions in battle called, wondering why Kramer demeaned them. Widows of veterans called, weeping at painful memories. Veterans lucky enough to have survived but whose buddies were killed in action called, complaining about the lack of respect shown near Memorial Day.
Kramer called many of them back himself.
“In my mind, I was making fun of my generation, too,” Kramer said. “I do have respect and admiration for what these guys went through. I was playing off the hype over ‘Pearl Harbor,’ and some people made a connection between the column and Memorial Day that I did not intend.”
He expressed regret.
“I feel bad about upsetting people of good will, of dredging up painful memories,” he said. “I have an ironic writing style that is not meant to be taken literally.”
Editor Tonnie L. Katz said the column didn’t work.
“It wasn’t funny,” she said. “All I could say to the readers was, ‘I’m sorry.’”
Kramer has many fans and normally makes outrageous humor work, she said.
Several of my callers said they were his fans, but they didn’t see any humor in this subject.
“Writing comedy is a high-wire act,” Kramer said. “There are minefields everywhere.”
In this case, he fell off the wire and into the minefield, detonating ill will.
Nor were a couple of dozen callers laughing after they opened their Accent sections Monday to find that the comic “Heart of the City” had been replaced by “Sylvia.”
“I am extremely saddened. I used to go straight to the comics and read ‘Heart.’ Now I am so depressed I can’t bear to look at the newspaper,” was the reaction of reader Judy.
Katz made the decision to find a home for “Sylvia,” which was offered by its syndicate.
“We have a lot of comics for young people and families,” she said. “‘Sylvia’ is a comic most specifically targeted at women. It has an edge that makes it different.”
Katz believes that juggling the comic lineup is important to keep the pages fresh and to provide a mixture in which everyone can find something that makes them laugh.
Michael Hewitt, the Accent editor asked to make room for “Sylvia,” said he considered that comic mixture before choosing to drop “Heart.”
Among the many family strips were features such as “Rose is Rose” and “Fox Trot,” rated by readers as among their favorites in an old Register survey.
Hewitt is preparing a new reader survey, which he anticipates will appear in the newspaper next month.
The survey will ask readers what they think of each comic, puzzle and fun feature in the Accent section. It also will ask readers what they would like to see that would make those pages more amusing and more fun.
I’m guessing we’ll see some votes for “Heart of the City.”
Whatever the choices, through columns or comic strips, remember the goal of good humor: Always leave ‘em laughing.
