The disgust and severing of ties with the Asbury Park Press is continuing after a photo with a racist and misogynistic caption was published, following a visit by Governor Murphy to Lakewood.
Lakewood Township and the Lakewood School District have already cut ties with the outlet, and TLS has learned that more public entities will be announcing that they too will sever ties with the APP in the coming days and weeks.
Sharing the sentiments of Governor Murphy, who said the APP’s belated apology “missed the point,” the Lakewood Board of Education is calling for an independent review of the incident, which the Board says is necessary to bring to light “the ongoing harassment, intimidation, racism, and culturally inappropriate coverage by the APP.”
Additionally, Lakewood School District Attorney Michael Inzelbuch has demanded that the paper provide the training that was in place at the APP for reporters, as well as what, if any, editorial oversight was in place when the photo and accompanying caption were posted.
Mr. Inzelbuch told TLS that, as of now, the Press said they would not provide the objective systems, reviews, and guidelines in place at the time the photo was published, nor any revisions made since then.
The BOE says that, “in an apparent attempt to deflect attention from them, within minutes of the Lakewood BOE cutting ties with the APP, the Press commenced an apparent retaliatory request for records from the District – records which officials say the APP already has, including correspondence between the District, APP reporters, and the editor of the APP, Paul D’Ambrosio.”
The Lakewood School District says that they will be contacting the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the NAACP in coming days regarding the ongoing issues at the APP.
Several Latino groups have already concurred with the District’s concerns, and have agreed to work collaboratively with Lakewood officials to prevent a reoccurence of “blatant racism and sexist attitudes that affect all, most notably impressionable students.”
An excerpt from a Zoom meeting held with Lakewood officials and APP editor Paul D’Ambrosio can be seen below.
