# Playgirl editor fired after "outing" as Rebublican... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 21, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573 "2005-03-21T15:49:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/81 "2005-03-22T02:24:29Z")
The sad thing here, outside of any merits of this case, is that if it a Democrat wrote a letter to Drudge saying that she worked for a magazine and was fired by her Republican boss after admitting she was a Democrat, the same people who are demanding proof in this thread would be launching pit threads about the climate of fear the ‘tighty righties’ were blowing across the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/82 "2005-03-22T02:55:26Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > The sad thing here, outside of any merits of this case, is that if it a Democrat wrote a letter to Drudge saying that she worked for a magazine and was fired by her Republican boss after admitting she was a Democrat, the same people who are demanding proof in this thread would be launching pit threads about the climate of fear the ‘tighty righties’ were blowing across the nation. If and when that happens, feel free to ask for proof and to doubt their claims in the absence of proof. I’m pretty sure no one’s stopping you. (I’m not sure why a Democrat would expect to get succour from Matt Drudge, but that’s another story.) ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/83 "2005-03-22T03:11:07Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > The Powers That Be recently overhauled _Playgirl_’s look and content – the magazine sucks now (no more Angry Frank! :mad: ). And the overall editing has long sucked. So I’m not surprised to hear that she got fired; I doubt, however, that the reason has anything to do with her politics. To repeat myself from the [other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5973471), _Playgirl_’s circulation declined from around [500,000](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100965) in the late 1990s to around [350,000](http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/enron/1579949) by 2002 (links are work-safe). I don’t know how rigorously checked these numbers are or how long Ms. Zipp has held her post at _Playgirl_, but it’s plausible that she was fired due to lack of performance rather than political pressures. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/84 "2005-03-22T03:56:06Z")
> [@Orbifold](#): > > If and when that happens, feel free to ask for proof and to doubt their claims in the absence of proof. I’m pretty sure no one’s stopping you. (I’m not sure why a Democrat would expect to get succour from Matt Drudge, but that’s another story.) Way to miss the point, **Orbifold**. Hypocrisy and double standards are what **Sam** was commenting on. **DMC** , it was so kind of you to remember. But I think you, too, miss the point. By saying my line of thinking, I mean it is absent left-wing bias. **Corii** , it was not my allegation that the action was illegal. Only that it illustrates something I’ve long championed here, i.e., left-wing bias in the field of journalism. **Lissa** , what can I say? Your accusations of right-wing simple-mindedness is simple-mindedness in itself. **Giraffe** , of course it’s my contention that it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/85 "2005-03-22T04:10:50Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Way to miss the point, **Orbifold**. Hypocrisy and double standards are what **Sam** was commenting on. Oh, I assure you I got the point. I just found **Sam** ’s railing against the hypothetical future actions of unnamed posters worthy of derision. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/86 "2005-03-22T04:22:21Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > I would interrupt myself only briefly to point out to **StD** that the success of Limbaugh, Fox, et al. is the result of decades of liberal bias, not a refutation of it. Had that long-standing liberal bias not existed there would be no Limbaugh, Fox, etc. ROTFLMAO 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/87 "2005-03-22T04:33:56Z")
> [@Earthling](#): > > I don’t know how rigorously checked these numbers are or how long Ms. Zipp has held her post at _Playgirl_, but it’s plausible that she was fired due to lack of performance rather than political pressures. Well, yeah … wasn’t that my point? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/88 "2005-03-22T05:01:59Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Well, yeah … wasn’t that my point? 😕 My post was made to follow-up on yours, not to disagree with it. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/89 "2005-03-22T05:02:56Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > **Giraffe** , of course it’s my contention that it’s wrong. Wrong for all magazines? Should magazines like The National Review or The Nation be able to hire people based on political party? If not, how can they hold an editorial position if they aren’t allowed to select their staff based on political views? If so, how is that different than Playgirl, especially since both magainzes deal with current events, not naked guys? Magazines are not the media. While there are some magazines which claim to be unbiased news sources, they are by far the exception. I read Playboy, for example, and would not be the least bit surprised if Republicans were not allowed to work there. The magazine takes a very strong pro-civil liberties stance, and is openly critical of Republicans. I see nothing wrong with this, any more than I expect Guns and Ammo to give equal time to pro-gun control Democrats. If you think either of these examples are indicative of mainstream media bias in either direction, you’re a fucking moron. That’s just my own editorial position. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/90 "2005-03-22T05:08:39Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > **DMC** , it was so kind of you to remember. But I think you, too, miss the point. By saying my line of thinking, I mean it is absent left-wing bias. So any media outlet that doesn’t openly espouse your line of thinking has a left-wing bias? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/91 "2005-03-22T06:04:15Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > …I read Playboy, for example, and would not be the least bit surprised if Republicans were not allowed to work there. The magazine takes a very strong pro-civil liberties stance, and is openly critical of Republicans… Mildly disagree, even though the issue is hardly worth the breath to state such disagreement. I haven’t seen a _Playboy_ in a very long time, but unless its changed fundamentally, it has always been a pander for Moloch and a disciple of Mammon. Its all about money, money and sex, money _as_ sex. The exaggeration of material values and wretched excess is very “capitalist” in viewpoint, if not necessarily in editorial stance. Its about buying sex in an indirect fashion, by displays of beautiful plumage that attracts the female of the morally bankrupt sub-species. _Pithecanthropus Vacuous_. Of course you can buy sex, you can also buy friends, in both cases you get what you pay for, and what you deserve. Which is to say from this end of things _Playboy_ represents a set of values that make its political positions irrelevent. It is _spiritually_ Republican, however well intended its intellectual liberalism. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/92 "2005-03-22T06:09:53Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > If you think either of these examples are indicative of mainstream media bias in either direction, you’re a fucking moron. Not indicative, _illustrative_. How many time do I have to say it, asspipe? Or can you not make the distinction? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/93 "2005-03-22T06:21:44Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Which is to say from this end of things _Playboy_ represents a set of values that make its political positions irrelevent. It is _spiritually_ Republican, however well intended its intellectual liberalism. Not to mention the fact that it would be quite out of character for Hef to adopt such a draconian policy as **Giraffe** poses toward his employees. Hef has always been an easy going live-and-let-live type despite the causes he espouses, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he has Republicans among his friends as well as his employees. Hell, _I’m_ critical of Democrats and liberals, yet most of my friends are Democrats and liberals. I doubt that Hef is less inclined to accept the premise that others are entitled to their own POV than I am. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/94 "2005-03-22T15:30:00Z")
Both of them? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/95 "2005-03-22T17:16:30Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Not indicative, _illustrative_. How many time do I have to say it, asspipe? > > Or can you not make the distinction? Feel free to replace the word indicative with the word illustrative – the sentence stands. If you think an entertainment magazine holding an editorial political stance is _illustrative_ of bias in the mainstream media, you’re a fucking moron. **elucidator** , I disagree. While the magazine is and has always been staunchly pro-consumerism, this is hardly just a Republican attitude. Like it or not, consumerism is a fundamentally mainstream American attitude. Socially, the magazine is a vigilant critic of government-imposed morality or infringement on civil liberties. As such, they’ve been nothing but harsh and scornful of the Bush administration. If an editor starting writing in the magazine about voting for Bush and supporting his policies, I wouldn’t be surprised if he/she were fired. And I see nothing wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/96 "2005-03-22T17:31:59Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Feel free to replace the word indicative with the word illustrative – the sentence stands. If you think an entertainment magazine holding an editorial political stance is _illustrative_ of bias in the mainstream media, you’re a fucking moron. Au, contraire, mon buttpipe! All mass produced media are mainstream media. This would apply to magazines, movies, newspapers, network television, cable television, radio, etc. Further, I would contend the political atmosphere at Playgirl is little different than than at the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, or CBS. And, oh, yeah…I really hate to have to say this, but you’re a fucking idiot! (See how silly that sounds.) Moron. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/97 "2005-03-22T17:38:36Z")
I forgot to take into account how one has to parse things around here. Make that “…mass produced, marketed and distributed nationally to the public at large are mainstream media.” Thank yuh veruh much. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/98 "2005-03-22T18:01:49Z")
“Further, I would contend the political atmosphere at Playgirl is little different than than at the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, or CBS.” You meant “_a_ little different”, didn’t you? Or is your “point” that “the media” is a bunch of indistinguishable whores with political viewpoints that can all be ignored? _Playgirl_. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/99 "2005-03-22T18:16:11Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Au, contraire, mon buttpipe! All mass produced media are mainstream media. This would apply to magazines, movies, newspapers, network television, cable television, radio, etc. I see. So if both the editors of _Model Railroader_ and those of _Mini Trucker Monthly_ decide they agree with Bush’s Social Security plan, this to you represents a significant shift in the political landscape of the mainstream media? :dubious: > [@](#): > > Further, I would contend the political atmosphere at Playgirl is little different than than at the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, or CBS. Yeah, that makes sense. After all, compiling a daily summary of national and world news is similar enough to assembling monthly pictorials of naked guys that you’d expect the same political atmosphere at both places. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573/100 "2005-03-22T18:41:28Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You meant “_a_ little different”, didn’t you? Or is your “point” that “the media” is a bunch of indistinguishable whores with political viewpoints that can all be ignored? Oh, come on now, Elvis. You know perfectly well those aren’t the only two possibilities. Nice straw man, though. As to your question, I’ll give it the response it deserves: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playgirl-editor-fired-after-outing-as-rebublican/295573.md?page=6)