La Presse apologizes about its cartoon

 Quebec newspaper La Presse has apologized for publishing a cartoon Wednesday that depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the vampire from the film Nosferatu after criticism that the caricature used antisemitic imagery.

The image published online portrayed Netanyahu with pointed ears and long sharp fingers, evoking a sequence in the 1922 silent film in which the vampire Count Orlok hides away on a ship in pursuit of his human prey.

A text overlay identified the caricature as “Nosfenyahou” on his way to the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which Netanyahu this week said would be targeted by a ground invasion, despite international appeals against the assault. La Presse removed the cartoon from its website Wednesday morning.

Many commentators and politicians denounced the image as an expression of antisemitic tropes, with some noting the German film’s echoes in Nazi propaganda and ties to historical depictions of Jewish people as vampires. (CP)

Associated Press in trouble!

 Gannett, publisher of USA Today and hundreds of local newspapers, will stop using the Associated Press’ content starting next week, a significant blow to the not-for-profit wire service collective that still relies on memberships for revenue.

Gannett will eliminate AP dispatches, photos and video as of March 25, according to an internal memo from chief content officer Kristin Roberts, obtained by TheWrap.

“We create more journalism every day than the AP,” Roberts said in the Tuesday statement, adding that not paying for AP content “will give us the opportunity to redeploy more dollars toward our teams and build capacity where we might have gaps.” (Reported by "The Wrap")