Santa Barbara newspaper with history of controversy apologizes after byline includes anti-gay slur

A newspaper that’s no stranger to controversy found itself in hot water with readers this week after an employee changed a reporter’s byline to include an anti-gay slur in its Christmas Day issue.

The Santa Barbara News-Press ran a story from staff writer Paul Gonzales on Monday about last-minute Christmas shoppers. Online, his byline is accurate and identifies him as a News-Press writer.

But readers who picked up a print copy of the paper saw his name printed as “Paul Gayzalez” and his title doctored to include an anti-gay slur.

Readers quickly noticed and posted images on social media. Some called for the paper’s executives to be fired, along with the employee responsible.

The paper addressed the controversy on Wednesday, writing: “In Monday’s News-Press, one of our employees changed another employee’s byline to reflect an offensive slur. The News-Press has taken immediate and swift action with this employee; we do not tolerate any form of harassment in the workplace. We apologize to our readers.”

The paper did not name the employee who altered the byline.

Gonzalez, whose LinkedIn profile says he has been with the paper for three years, said in an email that “this person has offered me a personal apology which I have accepted.”

The person no longer works at the paper, he said. He declined to comment further.

The paper has twice made national headlines in recent years.

In January 2015, the paper sparked protests after it published a story about undocumented immigrants heading to the DMV to apply for driver’s licenses under the headline “Illegals Line Up for Driver’s Licenses.” Last year it became the first daily newspaper to endorse President Trump in the general election, although 62% of county residents voted for Hillary Clinton and 32% for Trump.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

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