The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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January 16, 2008

Your View: Front page photo, caption offensive

By Charles Bode, North Mankato

I’ve seen my share of bad reporting, but the front-page headline and picture on Monday was, in my opinion, one of the most offensive in recent memory.

It certainly wasn’t a coincidence that you chose to print a picture of a billboard with the name “Jesus,” which just happened to be under the headline “eyesores.”

You could have used any other billboard to get your message across, so the question is, why do you want to offend the thousands of people in the area who know Jesus as their personal savior and God? It implies that the editors and The Free Press are attacking Jesus and the Christian religion.

The opinions of the people I asked at work said the words “eyesores” and “Jesus” together either shocked them or they were disappointed The Free Press would be so callous and insensitive.

Many people, including myself, find billboards distasteful, however, they appreciate the ones which have religious messages.

We urge The Free Press to apologize to us and to Jesus, looking to be sensitive to your readers’ religion.

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