Philly Newspaper Captions Photo of Asian-Americans with ‘Chinky Winky,’ ‘Dinky Doo’

The Philadelphia Public Record, a local newspaper, published an apology to its website Sunday after one of the paper’s print edition featured a slur against Asian-Americans.

On Aug. 21, a photo featuring a Philadelphia councilman Mark Squilla and seven other people who appear to be of Asian descent was captioned in part with “Me Too, Chinky Winky and Dinky Doo.”

Philadelphia magazine broke the story and asked the paper’s publisher, Jimmy Tayoun Sr., about the caption. He called it “a proofreading error” and said the editor responsible for the photo caption is “a Britisher” who “didn’t mean anything by it.”

A formal apology was posted to the Record‘s website:

In our Aug. 21, 2014 issue an offensive slur was accidentally published in the Philadelphia Public Record. This shocking lapse of professional conduct occurred contrary to our editorial directives and in no way reflects the views of our staff or our organization.

An internal investigation is underway to uncover the source of this intolerable abuse and to prevent it from ever happening again. We apologize whole-heartedly to the Asian American community and to all Philadelphians of this vibrant, diverse city who work together to make it the best place in America to live and to grow.

UPDATE — 12:08 p.m. ET: Tayoun says he fired the Record editor who wrote the caption, according to Philly.com.

[h/t Jim Romenesko
[Image via Philadelphia Public Record/Philadelphia magazine]

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