The Post’s “Reverse Ferret”

Slate’s Jack Shafer refers to one of my favorite media tell-alls, Stick It Up Your Punter: The Rise and Fall of the Sun, in an article explaining why the Obama-bashing New York Post has suddenly fallen in love with the man from Chicago. In Stick It Up Your Punter, this handbrake turn is referred to by then Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie as the “reverse ferret.” Shafer writes:

McKenzie would “roar around the office shouting ‘Ferret up your trouser!’ ” whenever he wanted to alter made-up pages at top speed. “Then he might shout, ‘Reverse ferret!’ and all the pages would have to be changed all over again.”

I have no doubt that Shafer is right when he attributes the New York Post’s reverse ferret to Murdoch’s desire to keep the new administration sweet. It would not be the first time he has proven his malleability in the face of raw political power (see UK elections passim.) But I do wonder whether Shafer ought to be giving Post editors just a little more credit.

After all, the Post did all it could to tear into Obama’s campaign. But that fight is over. The first African American has been elected to the White House with a clear mandate. Even John McCain is making nice. Meanwhile, newspapers and magazines cannot publish fast enough to meet reader demand for Obama stories. Under such conditions what newspaper wouldn’t release a commemorative post-election special and stick Obama on the cover every day? (And while we’re at it, let’s not forget the Post endorsed Obama, albeit grudgingly, during the Democratic Primary, in January.)

Rupert Murdoch and the Reverse Ferret (Slate)