News / Bristol Post
Bristol Post apologises for ‘Faces of Evil’ front page
The editor of the Bristol Post has apologised for a front page story published 22 years ago which led to a large proportion of the city boycotting the paper to this day.
With the headline, ‘Faces of Evil’, the front page of Wednesday, April 17, 1996 featured 16 photos of black men jailed for dealing crack cocaine.
“I don’t blame the journalists who conceived it,” writes editor Mike Norton. “I wasn’t the editor then but – if I had been – I’m sure I would have published the page, too.
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“But it was a huge mistake. That one image essentially destroyed what little credibility and trust the Post had within Bristol’s African and Afro-Caribbean community.
“So, today, I want to apologise for that page. I want to say sorry for the hurt it caused – and continues to cause – to an entire community of my city.
“Moreover, I want to try to make amends for it.”
The Bristol Post’s most recent circulation figures are down 12 per cent from this time last year to 15,271
Norton’s apology comes after a series of meetings over six months between himself and Roger Griffith of Ujima Radio, with the newspaper and radio station joining forces for a series of ‘City Conversations’ conceived and programmed in collaboration with the Bristol Old Vic.
Old Vic artistic director Tom Morris said: “Hundreds of other initiatives and conversations across the city are already taking place on this topic, including the bold and inspirational decision of Colston Hall to change its name.
“This programme and the City Conversations are also inspired by that context and the fact that the city seems ready for change. That’s why we are also inviting anyone who is doing so to connect with our programme.
“These conversations belong to the whole city, not to us or any other institution within it, and we are fascinated and hopeful to see where they might lead.”
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