The day after Quebec Premier Jean Charest demanded an apology from Maclean's magazine for a cover which pronounced his province the “most corrupt province in Canada” and a hours after the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion expressing its “profound sadness at the prejudice displayed by Maclean's magazine”, the magazine's owner has responded.
Rogers Publishing President Brian Segal just issued the following statement:
Rogers Publishing today commented on the most recent issue of Maclean's Magazine. “The cover of this issue and the feature story clearly offended some readers, and this has been the subject of much debate,” said Brian Segal, President, Rogers Publishing. “As a company we own a broad range of media properties across the country and editorial independence is an important cornerstone of our management philosophy. While challenging at times, this means we do not interfere with the editorial direction or content of our media properties in any way.”
“On behalf of the company, we sincerely regret any offence that the cover may have caused. We value all of our customers and their perspective. Quebec is an important market for the company and we look forward to participating in the dynamic growth of the province and its citizens.”
Hmm, one cannot help recall another instance exactly 5 years ago to the day when a caricature (or was it a cartoon) was also found “offensive” to another segment of society. Jyllands-Posten revisited?