Protests over the kiss

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper apologized to readers Monday for using a picture of Britney Spears kissing Madonna on its front page Friday.

The picture, not much bigger than a postage stamp, was near the top of Friday’s front page. It showed Spears and Madonna in an open-mouth kiss they shared at the MTV Video Music Awards the night before. A larger version of the picture appeared in the Living section.

The sloppy kiss picture elicited a deluge of complaints to the newspaper. In Monday’s editions, managing editor Hank Klibanoff apologized and said the picture should have run, but not on the front page.

Klibanoff compared the picture to graphic images from the war in Iraq and said sometimes the significance of an important event can justify publishing a photo that may offend some readers.

But Klibanoff said the kiss photo did not meet that standard.
Source: Associated Press