A reporter from the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey no longer works for the Gannett newspaper after an offensive photo caption was published over the weekend.
The caption, which was placed Sunday under a photo of a nurse preparing her to vaccinate someone, describes her as a ‘nurse’ and uses the abbreviation for the Jewish American princess. It was removed shortly after publication.
“It was an inexcusable act. The objectification of women and religious insults are intentional actions, “Paul D’Ambrosio, the paper’s executive editor, wrote in a message on the Asbury Park Press website on Tuesday. “The reporter in question is no longer with the company.”
D’Ambrosio does not name the reporter, but the New Jersey Globe, which broke the story for the first time, identified the reporter as Gustavo Martinez Contreras.
D’Ambrosio did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill. Could not reach Contreras.
The newspaper is also changing its photo-approval process following the scandal, according to D’Ambrosio’s public post and internal documents that The Hill saw.
“Our credibility in the community is paramount to our success,” D’Ambrosio said in an email to newspaper staff. “Whatever delays the above-mentioned SOP cause is irrelevant compared to the damage [of the] offensive sentence. ”
He also asked staff members to “not comment on this matter on social media or any media people you may contact.”
D’Ambrosio said in his public statement that the caption made it online due to a ‘system’ [that] enables staff to publish directly on our website and mobile app. We rely on the professionalism of our employees and know that speed can be important when discussing news. This system has been in use for almost a decade, and in our series of more than 250 publications, we have never had a similar incident like this. ”
In his memo, D’Ambrosio told staff members that all photo captions and photo galleries should be judged with two sets of eyes, and that the judges should place their initials at their approval.
“As the creator of the content, it is your responsibility to ask the coach or producer or even another staff member to review the package in a timely manner to ensure that the above is never repeated,” D’Ambrosio added.