He already had been wondering about The Post’s policies “with respect to the effect of the paper on community moral standards,” writes James A. Stuber. “Then came today’s column by Practical Man, advising twenty-somethings to have as much sex as they can while they can.”
That June 3 installment of the irreverent Accent column (“Quarterlife crisis? Twenty-five cures for pouty punks”) clearly grated on Mr. Stuber’s sensitivities. In addition, he cited restaurant critic Paul Reid’s 1998 review of the gentleman’s club/strip joint Rachel’s (“Dancers dazzle, but the food steals the show”), saying the review had had “a powerful legitimizing effect.” Mr. Stuber also criticized the “unnecessary large, front-page photo of some of the Rachel’s girls cozying up to a patron” that had accompanied the May 6 article about Rachel’s barge at SunFest (“Strip club provides floating adult party”). Even Mr. Stuber acknowledged, however, that that article had “correctly raised questions about Rachel’s use of SunFest to gain publicity.” Moreover, the photo ran on the front on the Local News section, not the front page. Though I would not have run it as large, across four columns, it was not patently offensive and definitely complemented the article.
Mr. Reid’s food review, meanwhile, was artfully done. At that time, I agreed here with a reader who said using a photo of the chef and his fare flanked by two barebacked dancers was gratuitous, even if much the same appears in movie ads. But if I and readers like him won’t be going to a Rachel’s, I added, many other readers want to know what’s up regarding such places in our community and we look to the newspaper to tell us. The same applies to the barge story; reporting and promotion aren’t synonymous.
While those two references to Rachel’s do not a pattern make, however, Mr. Stuber has a case in saying the Practical Man column “prescribed 25 steps for twenty-somethings to avoid having a crisis at age 25, beginning with ’1. Have sex,’ and continuing through ’6. Have more sex’; ’11. Have experimental sex’; ’16. Have kinky sex’; and ’21. Have sadistic sex.’ ”
“Don’t say your column is just entertainment, or that everyone knows that you didn’t mean it,” Mr. Stuber wrote to the PM. “There is no denying that you have sent a clear message to have fun while you can, by getting as much as you can, before you become old, married and hopeless. In fact, it is well-established that happiness for men and women alike is found in a loving relationship within marriage, not the reverse, and fulfillment is found in parenting children, not in the ‘carefree,’ commitment-free life.”
An editor’s job isn’t to see that an opinion column or cartoon reflects his or a certain viewpoint. That said, “Sometimes the Practical Man becomes impractical,” said Post Editor Edward Sears. “Occasionally, he steps over the line, and this is a perfect example. Meanwhile, editors who are supposed to keep nonsense out of the newspaper let down both the Practical Man and our readers.”
Regarding the premise of the satirical column, Associate Editor Jan Tuckwood, who supervises Features, adds: “A good Features section is like an interesting person: Funny one day, provocative the next, thoughtful the next. Always surprising. The Practical Man is designed to be surprising: humorous with a jolt of brutal honesty. It’s our reaction to the boring, safe, politically correct universe we live in. It’s a verbal slap in the face. Sometimes, we need the Band-Aid of baloney ripped off, and the Practical Man is there to do it. We don’t use a name byline with the Practical Man’s column, because he’s less one person than an attitude. Sometimes, some readers think he has an attitude problem, and sometimes they’re right. That’s why reader letters are an important part of his column.”
With this column, “The point is, did it step over the line of what needs to be in a family newspaper?” said Mr. Sears. “My thinking is this went over the line.”
