Media Matters for America has learned that the American Press of Lake Charles, Louisiana, has dropped right-wing pundit Ann Coulter's nationally syndicated column from its opinion pages, apparently in response to her March 2 remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), referring to Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) as a “faggot.”
According to a March 8 email Media Matters received from American Press editor Brett Downer, the paper “dropped Ann Coulter on Monday,” three days after Coulter made her comments at CPAC. Downer did not say whether Coulter was dropped as a result of her comments.
After Editor & Publisher revealed that the Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), The Oakland Press (Pontiac, Michigan), and The Mountain Press (Sevier County, Tennessee) had dropped Coulter as a result of her comments at CPAC, Media Matters published a list of news outlets that continue to publish Coulter's column. Media Matters later noted that The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana, also decided to drop Coulter as a result of her comments, which editor Alan English described as “the back-breaking straw for a decision we've openly discussed for some time.”
After receiving a tip that the American Press had dropped Coulter, Media Matters sought clarification from Downer.