The Sheaf’s recent parody issue, featuring genital warts, fat jokes and two dildos on the cover, has raised the ire of Saskatchewan’s beloved conservative talk radio host John Gormley, who describes it as “boy-driven potty humour” and the Sheaf as an “anarcho-syndicalist collective.”

Of course, controversy and criticism are part of any campus newspaper’s operations and the adVerb is only one example. This week, we address John Gormley’s criticisms and talk about some other recent Sheaf controversies, as well as what role a newspaper plays in the campus community.

This week’s program features the Sheaf’s editor-in-chief Ashleigh Mattern as well as layout editor Matthew Stefanson and web editor Ishmael Daro.

You can download or listen to the mp3 file here. Otherwise, use the player below. You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS or on iTunes.

Relevant links:

The Sheaf’s 2010 parody issue, the adVerb.
John Gormley’s April 12 program discussing the parody.
The November 6, 2008 issue featuring a controversial Remembrance Day article.
The 2006 Capitalist Piglet controversy and the comic itself. [The image is only provided for context. We do not wish to offend anyone unnecessarily and have therefore chosen not to repost the comic, but only link to it.]

Weekend Assignments

Each week, we hope to give out a “reading list” of things people should look up or reconnect with.

Ishmael’s pick: A New York Times article about the American “Tea Party” movement and what sort of voters identify as Tea Party supporters.
Ashleigh’s picks: Our much-maligned parody issue, the adVerb, as well as the consistently hilarious satirical news of the Onion.
Matthew’s pick: The music of Norwegian artist Ida Maria.

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Music: Esprit de Famille by Juicy lee and Sweet Light by BertycoX / image: Flickr
This podcast is distributed under a Creative Commons license, so do with it what you please.