Two weeks old and showing no signs of losing momentum, the controversy regarding racial sensitivity in PGA Tour coverage on Friday resulted in another public paddling for a prominent media figure.
Dave Seanor, Golfweek magazine's editor and vice president, was fired Friday, two days after he defended the publication's use a hangman's noose illustration on its Jan. 19 cover.
The move came a matter of hours after top officials from the PGA Tour and PGA of America denounced the publication's decision to use the image as the focal point of its follow-up stories on a racially tinged comment made Jan. 4 by a Golf Channel broadcaster.
The magazine's artwork sparked a two-day firestorm that coincided with the PGA Merchandise Show this week in Orlando, where the Golfweek cover was the hottest topic on the expo floor. Writers at the magazine who had nothing to do with the cover artwork were fielding scathing e-mails from readers demanding that they resign, and some were canceling their subscriptions.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem took the strongest stance of his tenure when he ripped the magazine Tuesday for using an intentionally provocative image. "We consider Golfweek's imagery of a swinging noose on its cover to be outrageous and irresponsible. It smacks of tabloid journalism. It was a naked attempt to inflame and keep alive an incident that was heading to an appropriate conclusion."
The series of events began at the tour's season opener in Hawaii, when Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman made a failed, flippant reference in a live broadcast about possibly stopping Tiger Woods' dominance. In an unscripted exchange, Tilghman said foes might "lynch him in a back alley." The statement's racist connotations have dominated news coverage in the sport for two weeks and drawn the attention of civil-rights activists. Tilghman was suspended for two weeks.
The magazine's decision to use the controversial cover was first reported Tuesday on CBSSports.com. Thursday, a tour official indicated that advertising from the World Golf Village and its merchants might be pulled from the magazine as a result of the inflammatory cover artwork. The tour itself does not advertise with the magazine, though the World Golf Village is run by tour employee Jack Peter, who noted that the ad agreement was being reconsidered.
Nonetheless, tour vice president Ty Votaw said Friday that the tour did not bring to bear any pressure, either editorially or economically, that helped precipitate Seanor's ouster.
"Categorically, none whatsoever," Votaw said.
He also told the Associated Press: "Jack was not speaking on behalf of the PGA Tour. I can categorically tell you the PGA Tour has not threatened any advertising pull."
In a statement released after Seanor was replaced Friday, the tour said Finchem's comment "was not a call to action, but rather a response to an inquiry and an expression of the tour's dissatisfaction with Golfweek's choice of a cover image. Beyond that, the tour views Golfweek's decisions around its editorial leadership to be purely an internal Golfweek matter and we have no further comment."
The magazine has removed the noose image from its website, and after having free copies available all week for thousands of attendees at the PGA show, on Friday removed them from display racks on the expo floor.
"Our staff is very passionate about the game," said Golfweek's Jeff Babineau, who was pulled off his two-week-old post as a PGA Tour beat writer and named to replace Seanor. "Our wish is that one regretful error does not erase more than 30 years of service we've dedicated to this industry."
Golfweek, one of two weekly magazines in the sport, has been in hot water with advertisers over its editorial content before. Eight years ago, the late Ely Callaway pulled an estimated seven-figure ad contract after the magazine was critical of Callaway Golf's celebrity pitchman Arnold Palmer and the company's ERC II driver, which was deemed illegal for sanctioned tournament play in the United States. Golfweek had to pare the size of its staff because of the lost revenue.
This time, Golfweek must reclaim its credibility with many readers, too.
"We apologize for creating this graphic cover that received extreme negative reaction from consumers, subscribers and advertisers across the country," said William P. Kupper Jr., president of Turnstile Publishing, which owns the Orlando-based magazine. "We were trying to convey the controversial issue with a strong and provocative graphic image. It is now obvious that the overall reaction to our cover deeply offended many people."
The fallout and feedback seems certain to last another week, at minimum. Tilghman is scheduled to reassume her post in the booth during Golf Channel's coverage of the Buick Invitational on Thursday, when Woods will make his 2008 debut.
