When Ryan Lizza’s report on Anthony Scaramucci hit the New Yorker yesterday, copy editors everywhere scrambled to figure out how to render the stream of obscenities that Scaramucci used to describe the White House staff. AP Style, which is used by most U.S. newspapers, directs writers to “not use [obscenities, profanities, or vulgarities] in stories unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a compelling reason for them.” Of course, with a pussy-grabbing president in the Oval Office, readers have gotten used to seeing obscenities in newspapers that might have avoided them even a few years ago.
We rounded up some of the ways that news organizations around the world have handled Scaramucci’s foul mouth, which means, yes, we spent quite some time this morning on news websites and doing Ctrl-F for “cock,” “block,” and “fuck.” Honestly, the most appalling thing we found is the number of newspapers that apparently think that “blocking” and “cock-blocking” are the same thing.
The New York Times
Although The New York Times went with a fairly staid headline, the Grey Lady printed the word “cock”—but not “cock-blocking,” apparently thinking that “blocking” would serve just as well:
In the same telephone call, Mr. Scaramucci disparaged Mr. Bannon. “I’m not Steve Bannon. I’m not trying to suck my own cock,” he said. “I’m not trying to build my own brand” on the president’s coattails.
Mr. Scaramucci complained that Mr. Priebus had prevented him from getting a job in the White House until now, saying he “blocked Scaramucci for six months.”
Washington Post
The Washington Post was okay with “fucking,” but left out all mentions of “cock”:
In the expletive-filled interview with the New Yorker… He accused Bannon of trying to build his “own brand off the fucking strength of the president.”
And Scaramucci angrily lashed out at Priebus for blocking him from the White House for six months and accused him of leaking the details of a Wednesday night dinner with Fox News personality Sean Hannity at the White House to a reporter.
Chicago Tribune
We’re used to profane politicians here in Chicago, so this headline won’t raise any eyebrows. Yet the Trib also clutched its pearls at “cock-blocking,” opting for “blocking”:
And Scaramucci angrily lashed out at Priebus for blocking him from the White House for six months and accused him of leaking the details of a Wednesday night dinner with Fox News personality Sean Hannity at the White House to a reporter.
The Times (U.K.)
The Times is one of England’s more conservative newspapers, so this snoozer of a headline is no surprise. The Times also followed AP’s convention of starring out profanity:
Accusing Mr Bannon of enjoying media attention, Mr Scaramucci said, “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own c**k. I’m not trying to build my own brand off the f***ing strength of the president. I’m here to serve the country.”
The Guardian
The Guardian also quoted the New Yorker story at some length, and with no censoring.
Our research on this also led us down the rabbit hole of the Oxford English Dictionary, where we learned that “cock-block” is a fairly new term: Its earliest written use is from 1972 (one year after the first written use of “cock rock,” interestingly enough). With time, perhaps more newspapers of the world will know to embrace it. The Trump administration is, if nothing else, spurring that conversation onward.