By: E&P Staff The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass., has apologized to a Boston sportscaster for running a "Get Fuzzy" comic that implied he was drunk on the air.
Bob Lobel, the sportscaster, had sued The Standard-Times as well as Massachusetts-based cartoonist Darby Conley and "Get Fuzzy" syndicator United Media after the strip appeared on May 13, 2005. The suit was settled last week (E&P Online, Nov. 16).
In the apology, Standard-Times Editor Bob Unger wrote: "For the record, I don't know sportscaster Bob Lobel. ... But I feel as if I owe Mr. Lobel, who works for Channel 4 in Boston, an apology, and I offer it now. ... I have my doubts that Mr. Lobel would win if the libel case went to trial because Mr. Lobel is a public figure and the statements occurred in a cartoon. However, The Standard-Times tried to work out a settlement because I felt the strip was unfair and irresponsible. I got a call from a United representative, who apologized for distributing the strip in the form in which we published it. ..."
Unger also mentioned that The Standard-Times canceled "Get Fuzzy" two weeks ago.
The apology ran in the newspaper's Sunday edition and on its Web site, SouthCoastToday.com -- which ComicsReporter.com linked to Monday.
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