MSP Magazine columnist quits over upcoming Garrison Keillor story
Garrison Keillor will soon be back in the spotlight — and the magazine putting him there just lost one of its writers over it.
On Monday, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine (MSP Mag) columnist Nora McInerny announced vita tweet that she quit the publication because of its January 2020 cover story on the "Prairie Home Companion" star:
McInerny — an author of several books and host of the podcast "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" — explained the decision in a series of followup tweets, saying it's related to the sexual misconduct allegations that got Keillor fired from MPR in 2017.
From the tweet thread:
This coverage is a privilege afforded to a certain kind of man. By men and complicit women. And when we prioritize the documentation of a powerful man because of his *art* or his culture impact or or or — we tell women and survivors everywhere a powerful message
We confirm that HE is more interesting, more worth documenting and analyzing, than the impact of his actions. We are telling people that a poorly behaved man (whose racism, misogyny and bullying are well documented in his own work and words, and never brought up in this piece)...
are more interesting than even the accomplishments of people who (actually) live in our community and work to represent our *whole* community, not just a folksy, all-white fictional version.
Of MSP Mag's Keillor piece in particular, she had this to say:
This cover is proof that no matter how effective #MeToo and #TimesUp have been in some cases, no matter how many people and institutions say 'we won’t tolerate this kind of behavior' -- they DO tolerate it! And they celebrate it.
Because these men STILL GET THE FRONT PAGE. They STILL GET THE COLUMN SPACE. They still get the time and the attention and the documentation. They do not have to be sorry, or even pretend to be. They get to be multi-dimensional in a way that accusers and survivors do not.
According to McInerny, she brought her concerns to the magazine, whose solution was too little, too late:
She again called out MSP Mag for omitting Keillor's scandal from the piece:
According to the Star Tribune, MSP Mag editor-in-chief Jayne Haugen Olson said the editors were aware that "Keillor is controversial and this was a careful decision."
Ultimately, Haugen Olson said McInerny "made a decision that is right for her, and the magazine respects and supports her decision," per the paper.
