MASON CITY – An NIT and Globe Gazette reader alerted NIT this morning of potentially dangerous comments posted to the Globe Gazette’s website.
The comments were made by a regular columnist and contributor to the Globe Gazette – Todd Blodgett – under a story about two Mason City citizens who have decided to run for City Council.
The comments may be considered offensive and potentially dangerous, as the comments specifically mention the Muslim God Allah. Islamic extremists have used the the mocking of their religion – and especially Allah – as reasons for past terrorist attacks.
– Official White House photo
At this time, the U.S. government is extremely sensitive to the situation in the Middle East and proved Monday morning that it is watching any and all information in the media on the situation there.
At 12:01 AM Monday morning, NIT published a story titled “US Commandos Kill 5 Insurgents”. At 5:13 AM, a Public Affairs Officer for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan contacted the NIT newsroom and said “There is no such thing as US commandos in our military. The story refers to Afghan special operations commandos. Please correct the record, and let us know when it happens. Thanks for your time, and sorry for the confusion.”
NIT immediately changed the story headline as requested. “We need to be a little clearer on our end. The story can be a little misleading. Thanks for the quick fix,” the officer responded.
This weekend, the Globe Gazette published a story about a 42 year-old Caucasian woman – Jodi Draper – and a 75 year-old African American man – Leonard Foster – who announced intentions to run for City Council in Mason City.
Within hours, 21 comments were made under the story, with several from long-time Globe Gazette contributor and blogger Todd Blodgett, who lives in Clear Lake. The comments remained published at GlobeGazette.com as of 1:10PM Monday afternoon. Todd Blodgett’s Guest Opinion columns are something of a lightning rod for Globe-Gazette readers, and he evokes strong reactions on both sides of the political aisle.
Blodgett posted several comments that some are describing as “troubling” in light of the context of the comments in reference to Muslims and even race.
The Globe Gazette claims to not allow comments that are “off topic”. They have a strict list of etiquette.
NorthIowaToday.com Publisher Matt Marquardt called the Globe Gazette newsroom Monday to ask about the comments. Reporter Judy Delperdang said she did not know about the comments, and Editor Jane Reynolds also denied knowledge of the comments. Mrs. Reynolds said she would “look into” the comments and said they may be removed.
Here are some of the comments Mr. Blodgett posted, along with the headline to the Globe Gazette story:
