The Washington Post has changed the opening paragraph on its obituary for Nancy Reagan that was criticized as focusing on the negative,
The Washington Examiner reports.
The obituary originally opened:
"Nancy Reagan had an undeniable knack for inviting controversy. There were her extravagant spending habits at a time of double-digit unemployment, a chaotic relationship with her children and stepchildren that could rival a soap opera plot, and the jaw-dropping news that she had insisted the White House abide by an astrologer when planning the president's schedule."
The story has been
updated online, though the Examiner notes that no editor's note has been included to note the change as often done when an online story is changed in any way.
The obituary now begins:
"Nancy Reagan, a former film actress whose crowning role was that of vigilant guardian of President Ronald Reagan's interests and legacy, died March 6 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 94."
Mediaite's Joe Concha on Sunday slammed the report, noting that it was fairly negative throughout and was written by a reporter whose Twitter feed shows she appears to "loathe the Republican Party."
On Monday,
Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto compared the original opening with the Post's opening paragraph when former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died.
"In the 35 months that John Fitzgerald Kennedy was president, his young and beautiful wife captivated the world with her understated elegance, her whispery voice, her picture-perfect children and her commitment to culture," the newspaper wrote in 1994.
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