PD editor apologizes for cartoon

Here's the story by Jesse Tinsley in the PD on Friday:

Plain Dealer Editor Susan Goldberg apologized Thursday to the parents of 12-year-old shooting victim Asteve' "Cookie" Thomas because they considered a cartoon offensive and insensitive.

The cartoon by Plain Dealer editorial cartoonist Jeff Darcy was published in the newspaper on Sept. 5, four days after Asteve' was killed by a stray bullet during a shootout in her East Side neighborhood.

The girl's parents, Karen Elliott and Steven Thomas, along with several community activist groups, accepted the editor's apology during a meeting at The Plain Dealer.

"It's terrible to lose someone you love, and I apologized to Asteve's parents because that cartoon added to their pain," Goldberg said after the meeting. "We regret that the cartoon was published and realize that offended many people in our community."

Members of the anti-crime group Black on Black Crime Inc., NAACP, New Black Panther Party and other organizations called off a protest in front of The Plain Dealer, and instead met privately with Goldberg and Editorial Page Editor Brent Larkin.

"She graciously apologized to them [Asteve's family] for what happened. It was a productive meeting," said Art McKoy, head of Black on Black Crime. "We decided not to picket The Plain Dealer because Editor Susan Goldberg was receptive to asking us to come in and talk and not picket."

McKoy said he and others plan to meet with the editor at a later date to discuss diversity in the newsroom and news coverage of the black community.

About 10 percent of The Plain Dealer's professional editorial staff is black, and about 14 percent are people of color, including African-Americans, Latinos and Asians, Goldberg said.

Nationally, minorities make up 13.62 percent of journalists working in America's newsrooms, according to the latest statistics from the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

"Having a diverse staff is important, and that's something we need to work on in The Plain Dealer's newsroom," Goldberg said. "This is an area in which we need to improve so we can better reflect and cover the diverse community in which we live and work."

Police have arrested Eric "Big Willie" Wilson, 35, and James Yhonquea, 20, both of Cleveland, in connection with Asteve' Thomas' death on Sept. 1.