NY Press team resigns after cartoons held

The team resigned after the alternative weekly newspaper decided not to run the Prophet cartoons that have set off a worldwide furore.

The editorial team at the

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New York Press

resigned after the alternative weekly newspaper decided not to run the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have set off a worldwide furore.

Editor in chief Harry Siegel, managing editor Tim Marchman, arts editor Jonathan Leaf and City Hall bureau staffer Azi Paybarah resigned Tuesday. The four were among the small number of Press employees who put out the paper with free-lance contributors.

Paybarah said that the package of stories about the cartoons was put together on Monday and was read by management. On Tuesday, toward the end of the day, the editorial team was told that the cartoons would not run.

Since the package would have included criticism of other newspapers for not running the cartoons, for the Press to do the same would have made the writers appear to be hypocrites, Paybarah said. There also was concern about editorial control, he said.

"Whenever there's interference with the ability to tell a story of this magnitude, it puts in jeopardy all future stories," he said.

In a statement, New York Press General Manager Peter Polimino said the newspaper had come to the same conclusion as many other "responsible newspapers and media outlets" that have chosen to not run the cartoons.