Murdoch Paper Cartoon Mocks Starving Somalis

A British newspaper belonging to the same media empire that is home to Fox News made light of its phone hacking scandal at the expense of famine victims in Somalia. Suggested Reading The Root 100 – 2020 Black History Month – 2022 Hip-Hop 50 Year – 2023 Video will return here when scrolled back into…

A British newspaper belonging to the same media empire that is home to Fox News made light of its phone hacking scandal at the expense of famine victims in Somalia.

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach

The controversial editorial cartoon from The Times of London drew almost instant criticism after appearing in Thursday's paper.

Many considered the cartoon offensive, while others suggested it was a public relations ploy. The cartoon - titled "Priorities" - depicted three naked Somalians with distended stomachs clutching empty bowls.

"I've had a bellyful of phone-hacking โ€ฆ" one says.

It brings to mind the racially-charged images referred to in yesterdayโ€™s essay by The Rootโ€™s managing editor, Joel Dreyfuss. He says โ€œbrutish caricatures of black people,โ€ began appearing on the pages of The New York Post after that paper was acquired by Murdoch back in 1976. ย (Remember this gem from 2009?)

In labeling the cartoon โ€œPriorities,โ€ perhaps The Times of Londonโ€™s editors were trying to say there are more important things for the media to cover than the phone hacking scandal. If so, it was a cheaply-made and ineptly executed point โ€” and really, invoking the images of starving people to

SOURCE:ย  New York Daily News

Sheryl Huggins Salomon is senior editor-at-large of The Rootย and a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based editorial consultant.ย Follow her on Twitter.

Straight From The Root

Sign up for our free daily newsletter.