Editor’s note: This was updated Wednesday afternoon.
In a press conference Monday morning, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew demanded the Ocean City Sentinel apologize for a guest column published in last week’s edition of the newspaper excoriating Van Drew for his support of former President Donald Trump.
The congressman said the column, an Another View submission entitled, “Van Drew’s nightmare … Police come calling,” threatened him and threatened his wife. Van Drew alleges the writer of the column, John McCall, left a threatening phone message at his home.
That phone message was the topic of McCall’s column.
McCall, a local resident and freelance journalist who periodically submits guest columns and letters to the editor, wrote about being visited by Ocean City police officers responding to a request from the congressman after receiving the phone message. As editor and publisher of the newspaper, here is my personal response directly to the congressman about the phone message and printing the column:
I learned about the contents of the phone message after the column appeared. I condemn it fully and completely. It is horrible to leave a message like that on anyone’s phone, much less a congressman. No one should have to hear that kind of sentiment expressed.
McCall is not a staff member or a paid contributor to the newspaper. If he were, that phone message would have been a firing offense at this newspaper.
With regard to the column, I am sorry you felt threatened and felt your wife was threatened. There are no two ways about that. I blame that on my judgment. I knew in advance that the guest column was vitriolic and highly critical of you and your support for the former president. In the section you point out, I know McCall was arguing against any type of bad treatment of women but phrased it in a way that should have been changed so that was abundantly clear. If I thought his writing contained any threats of any type of harm to women, I would not have allowed it to appear in my newspaper.
However, the way it was written was wrong. I condemn any type of violence or harm against women or any type of writing that can be seen as vaguely suggesting that. I realize just allowing those words in the newspaper in any context can be triggering and was inappropriate. I knew that in advance and let you and our readers down by not changing or eliminating it.
You didn’t call me directly to ask for an apology. Instead you held a public press conference to blast this newspaper and the man who wrote the column. But that is fair. You have every right to respond. I wish I knew about the content of the phone call earlier. If I did, I would not have let that column appear in the newspaper.
To give you your due, I had a reporter cover that press conference and report on it. That story is on the front page of this newspaper, giving an airing of your reaction to the column and the author and giving you prominent space to have your say.
My newspaper staff and I have covered you for more than 20 years and that relationship has always been cordial, even if strained at times when this newspaper took you to task over political votes or issues at the county, state or federal level. Never have I believed you should feel personally in danger from an opinion expressed on these pages, whether ours or a submission from a member of the community.
I believe in giving readers space to put their names to criticism of any elected official. During the last presidential term and election, many opposing views were expressed and many were strident. It is important for the newspaper to provide a forum for that.
However, in this instance, I have let the readers down.
The partisan vitriol has become so extreme, it is easy to get desensitized to what is being said. I am fully aware of that. I have written in this space in both editorials and columns that we all need to tone down the political anger that is dividing our country.
By not editing this column – or asking the guest writer to edit it – in a way that would ensure the congressman and his wife did not feel threatened, the net result is adding to the anger, not diminishing it.
That does not contribute to a dialogue, serve our readers or our Democracy.
– David Nahan, Editor and Publisher, Ocean City Sentinel
Covering Van Drew
This newspaper has extensively covered Jeff Van Drew from his time on the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders (now Commissioners) to working as a state assemblyman and senator through the present in his second term as a congressman. That coverage includes countless news stories and commentaries.
Over the years the Sentinel has been suppportive and critical of Van Drew’s positions on county, state and federal issues.
The most recent staff criticism of Van Drew on these pages was after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. This newspaper endorsed Van Drew in his run for Congress in 2018 but did not endorse him or his Democratic opponent in the 2020 Second District race.
We will continue to report and comment on his votes and political positions in Congress and his statements related to his office or campaign.
We will not shy away from being critical of the congressman if we believe it is deserved, but we will endeavour to ensure the views we express stick to the professional, not the personal, and ask that our guest writers for columns and letters to the editor do the same.