Say Anything Blog

DULUTH, Minn. - The publisher of the Duluth News Tribune issued an apology to readers today after some said they were offended by an editorial cartoon about the Red Lake shootings.

Nine people were killed in the attack on the northwest Minnesota Indian reservation before the gunman, 16-year-old Jeff Weise, killed himself. In the wake of the shooting, people who knew Weise said he talked often of guns and shooting people, and a long trail of Internet postings showed him communicating with others in cyberspace about depression, suicide and violence.

In the cartoon, drawn by Signe Wilkinson of the Philadelphia Daily News, a man with a headband and ponytail holds an 'Indian Tracking Guide' as he walks along a path littered with guns, skulls, swastikas and a picture of Hitler. The man says: 'I'm not recognizing these signs.'

After the cartoon ran in Wednesday's News Tribune, Publisher Marti Buscaglia posted a note to readers:

'Some of our readers have indicated they were offended by the racially derogatory nature of Wednesday's political cartoon commenting on the Red Lake incident. Frankly, I agree with those viewpoints and want to extend my apologies to those who were offended during a sensitive time in our region.'

About 75 people protested outside the newspaper at noon today. Two of the paper's editors - Editorial Page Editor Robin Washington and Executive Editor Rob Karwath - met with some of the protesters to talk and answer questions. They repeated Buscaglia's printed apology, Washington said.