Says here on the front page of today’s Florida Times-Union that Jacksonville residents are in shock after two young men fired into a school bus, shooting two girls in the head and OH HEY COUPONS FOR DISCOUNT ADMISSION TO THE GUN SHOW AT THE MOROCCO SHRINE CENTER.

Readers of the paper were treated to the unfortunately placed gun-show ad this morning. “Look, I get it,” one disgruntled blogger wrote:

The newspaper business is in decline. The print paper loses circulation with each passing generation. You don’t want to screw up the revenue stream.

But how tone deaf can you be?

Media watchdog Jim Romenesko got a statement from the Times-Union’s “vice president of audience” defending the news team’s coverage of the ongoing shooting incident—at least one suspect is still at large—and apologizing for the bad ad placement:

The appearance of a gun-related front-page sticky note on the same day was an incredibly regrettable coincidence. It was born of the purposeful separation between our news and advertising departments, an approach we take because we value nothing more than the objectivity of our journalism. That said, this clearly was an oversight. We’re aggressively reviewing our procedures and will implement steps to prevent such a situation in the future.

Some seasoned members of the state’s media, like Politico’s Marc Caputo, felt for the paper:

Which is true, as far as it goes. Who could predict that gun violence would be front-page news on any given day in Florida?

Contact the author at adam@gawker.com.
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