AAN Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Nude Illustration on Weekly Dig Cover 'Sparks Outrage'

By AAN Staff

september 2, 2008 09:15 am

Nude Illustration on Weekly Dig Cover 'Sparks Outrage'

Local CBS affiliate WBZ-TV says this week's cover is "raising quite a controversy in Boston," and in classic local TV news style, finds three (count 'em, three!) residents to prove it, their reactions ranging from "weird" to "crazy" to "sick." The WBZ reporter even tracks down Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to give him a glimpse. "It's totally irresponsible to have a photo like this in a paper that's widely distributed around our city," Menino says. "Young children can see it. It's not what we should be showing our young people." Menino also says he's going to look into whether he can remove the Dig's news boxes from "nearby city buildings." Dig art director Tak Toyoshima tells WBZ that "the point of the cover is to celebrate summer, the end of summer -- it's the last hurrah." He adds that the illustration, done by Syracuse artist Phil McAndrew, "is not, to me, sexual at all. They're nude, but there's nothing sexual happening."

View full article at WBZ-TV