Kenosha Newspaper Editor Quits Job Over Headline About Jacob Blake

A newspaper editor at The Kenosha Times quit his job over a headline that misrepresented what happened during a peaceful protest for Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot seven times in his back and paralyzed by a Kenosha police officer.

Daniel J. Thompson, the now-former digital editor and reportedly the only Black full-time staff member, said he had a problem with a headline that falsely characterized the article and gave a false impression of a rally that he attended, according to reports.

The demonstration featured calls for peace and unity from the victim’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., and Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.

“The story is about the entire reaction of all the speakers and people in attendance, and that quote is one outlier falling within a flood of positive ones,” Thompson said.

Although the article was clear about what took place at the rally, the headline posted on the Kenosha News website on Saturday (August 29) highlighted a statement from a rally participant: “Kenosha speaker: ‘If you kill one of us, it’s time for us to kill one of yours.’”

He also mentioned that the speech Blake’s father made would have been a more responsible and accurate headline.

“The things that frustrated me most is Mr. Blake, Jacob Blake’s father, himself personally, called for a night of peace, of no destruction, no riots,” Thompson said.

“I don’t even know if I can associate with the company after that,” Thompson, who worked at the paper for three years, wrote in a text to Bob Heisse, the executive editor of The Kenosha News. “I need to calm down, but I wanted you to know immediately.”

Heisse then responded, with a screenshot of the headline, saying, “Yes you should calm down. That is a public threat, and it is an exact quote at a rally that was to that point totally on message.”

Thompson later replied, “Then I quit.”

In a Facebook video explaining his resignation, Thompson stated, “I did what I did because today is about Jacob Blake. It’s about his family, it’s about moving forward together peacefully, and I saw that today, and that headline did not reflect it. And when they refused to change it, I quit.”

Photo: Kenosha News