Wily Miller took another not-so-subtle jab at newspaper editors and their over-sensitivity this last Sunday’s Non Sequitur. Taking a shot at editors isn’t exactly new for Wiley. The most interesting thing I’ve learned out of Wiley’s Mohammad series is this gem from Bob Harvey’s post in today’s Comics Journal:
As of Monday morning, Wiley told me, he hadn’t heard a peep of protest from the cowed press. “But,” he added, “you know how it is. Editors only read a comic when it’s shoved under their nose by someone asking if it’s ‘too controversial’ for the comics page.”
And Wiley took precautions against such a derailment. He has forbidden, as a matter of policy, his syndicate to ever again send subscribing newspapers “warnings” about potentially inflammatory episodes of Non Sequitur.
No more warnings. Editors have now been… warned.
Um, Alan…I think Wiley’s jab is at National Public Radio editors, not newspaper editors.
I think.
Hmm… Could be NPR, could be newspapers, could be newspeople in general. It’s an interesting jab, to say the least.
Yes, the second panel in the strip has the letters N P R scattered on the ground, so Wiley may be taking a gentle subtle at NPR. The sign in the second-to-last panel says, “word, never to be uttered or PRINTED” – which I interpretted to be broad enough to all media – with exception perhaps to that which is communited through sign language.
Let’s not overthink this one, folks.
I would suggest that the letters are random. The gag is that, each day, the editors choose a letter and you can’t use the “scary word” that starts with that letter.
Words only start with one letter, and, even if they started with three, since there aren’t three pegs on the board, there would be no day when you couldn’t use a scary word that starts with NPR.
The gag is that there is a scary word that starts with M and editors refuse to let anyone use it. Including cartoonists.
Whose work rarely appears on radio.