Talk:Wesley Pruden

Quote by father

This from Wesley Pruden (Jr.) on August 15, 2006: The remark that Roy Reed attributes in his book to my father at Little Rock Central High School -- "that's what we have got to fight -- niggers, Communists and cops" -- includes no citation as to source. I was at the school on that occasion, as a reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, and I do not believe my father said this. This was not the way he spoke, there are no other occasions on which he was ever quoted as using such language. He was a careful speaker, and I know for a fact that he, like most Southern whites of his generation a segregationist, did not attribute the movement toward desegregation to Communists. This remark, attributed to him by Roy Reed, has been often repeated. 17:22, 15 August 2006 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.108.159.31 (talk • contribs)

Retirement

This article currently states simply that Pruden "retired" as editor-in-chief in 2008. While that statement is technically correct, it is misleadingly lacking in context. In 2008, The Nation published an expose on the atmosphere at the Times, alleging on the basis of interviews with numerous current and former staffers that the paper under Pruden was a work environment rife with racism and sexual harassment ([1]). The Nation also reported that the Moon family (owners of the paper) were looking to replace Pruden and shift the paper's emphasis away from Pruden's focus on "extreme racial animus and connections to nativist and neo-Confederate organizations." An internal investigation by a law firm hired by the Times reportedly confirmed many of The Nation's allegations. Third-party sources generally seem to view Pruden as having been "pushed out" in the wake of these allegations, rather than simply "retired" (e.g. [2]).

Subsequently, our article notes that Pruden continued to write an opinion column for the Times. However, we fail to note that the racial component of Pruden's writing touched off an uproar, leading the Times to insist that an Editorial-Page editor review all of Pruden's writing before publication and strip out racist language. Apparently, "Pruden’s drafts were often sprinkled with subtle racism and pro-Confederate language. 'He was constantly re-litigating the Civil War, and attacking the historical figures on the right side of the war... He also used terms with animal implications when referring to blacks'—sired being a prime example. Part of Mastio's job was to strip the offending language." ([3]).

I'm curious how we should present these aspects of Pruden's career in this biography. MastCell ^Talk 21:33, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Another Wikipedia hatchet job on a Conservative

Let's see - despite this being a biography of a living person, with which extra care is to be taken we manage to get the word "nigger" into the one paragraph summary of his early life, as part of a disputed and unsourced quote. Well Done Wiki Editors!! Seriously, this really needs to be removed, even if it were true it does not belong on this man's biography, especially one that is condensed to one paragraph.

I'm going to do the right thing and delete it, knowing full well that I will probably have my edits reversed out by the gatekeepers of the angry left. So be it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ZeroXero (talk • contribs) 14:51, January 16, 2015 (UTC)

Southern Poverty Law Center

If Breitbart accused, say, Bob Woodward of something unpleasant, Wikipedia would normally judge the accusation to regard not Woodward but Breitbart. An article on Woodward would not mention the accusation. What goes for the Right goes for the Left. When the Southern Poverty Law Center accuses Wes Pruden of something unpleasant, Wikipedia judges the accusation to regard not Pruden but the Southern Poverty Law Center. An article on Pruden does not mention the accusation. Tbtkorg (talk) 21:15, 13 December 2016 (UTC)