When you think "The Montezuma (Iowa) Record," you think "just good journalism, as befitting the town that is home to Iowa's best competition motocross race track, Fun Valley Motocross." I'm sad, and chuckling, to tell you that you may be disappointed in the Record's latest effort, however. (Unless you are racist).
The Record did a story on salaries at the University of Iowa this week. Sounds like good public records reporting, eh? Good racist public records reporting, that is! Allow The Ames Progressive to explain, since The Montezuma Record is not online, due to the fact that it is produced by a small but racist band of livestock:
A report listing the employees at the University of Iowa who earn at least $100,000 was introduced by noting, "The relatively high numbers of employees with names from Asia and the Near East is interesting. While there are SMiths [sic] and Jones, there are eleven Ahmeds to only 30 Browns."
Later in the report, the paper astutely observed, "Hyphenated, unspellable and oriental names may get you the big bucks"
The Montezuma (IA) Record is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the Category of Finding People Named 'Ahmed' in Iowa, 1917-2012.
[Ames Progressive via Romenesko. Photo: Corinna Makris/ Flickr]