Washington Post changes headline that described politician’s race

Washington City Paper

The Washington Post “missed” with a headline that described D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans as white, Post spokesperson Kris Coratti tells Washington City Paper’s Will Sommer.

The headline originally read “Jack Evans, a White D.C. Council Member, Sets His Sights on Becoming Mayor of Washington,” Sommer reports. Complaints on Twitter followed, and the Post changed the hed to “Veteran political tactician Jack Evans makes second run at being mayor of Washington.”

Chuck Thies, who is the campaign manager for D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, also objected to Post reporter Paul Schwartzman’s description of Evans’ “pallid white skin” in the article’s first sentence. “Pallid” doesn’t “belong in the lede of a news story unless you’re talking about someone who is on death’s door or a corpse,” Thies told Sommer.