Chicago Tribune Pulls Doonesbury Over Charity Pitch

The Chicago Tribune refused to run Friday's Doonesbury strip because it made, in the paper's words, "a direct fundraising appeal for a specific charity." The newspaper's "editorial practices do not allow individuals to promote their self-interests," it said in a notice. The strip promoted DonorsChoose.org, calling it "a cool site that connects you to public school classrooms in need." The comic contained a smartphone-scannable code to send users to the website, the Washington Post reports.

Trudeau finds the Tribune's explanation somewhat mystifying. "I’m not sure ‘self-interest’ quite applies, since (a) DonorsChoose is a charity, and (b) I have no formal connection to it," he tells the Post. And "curiously, the Trib had no problem with the previous day’s strip directing readers to my website—which actually was in my self-interest.” But Trudeau is taking it in stride. "I try not to second-guess editors; they’re the clients, and I have no expectation that my strip is going to make it into every paper every day." (More Doonesbury stories.)