Drew Johnson, the editorial page editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press was fired after 14 months on the job for publishing an editorial with a headline that read: “Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President.” The editorial ran Tuesday, the same day Obama visited Chattanooga.
The powers-that-be posted a notice Thursday explaining the firing:
The headline was inappropriate for this newspaper. It was not the original headline approved for publication, and Johnson violated the normal editing process when he changed the headline. The newspaper’s decision to terminate Johnson had nothing to do with the content of the editorial, which criticized the president’s job creation ideas and Chattanooga’s Smart Grid. The Free Press page has often printed editorials critical of the president and his policies.
Via his (unverified) Twitter account, Johnson disputes that he was terminated for doing what he claims is standard procedure:
—
@Derrall We change headlines all the time at the last minute. I had a filler headline in that stunk and thought of that Johnny Paycheck song
— Drew Johnson (@Drews_Views) August 1, 2013
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC