Boneheaded in Boston

So Cartoon Network parent company Turner Broadcasting has agreed to "to pay $2 million compensation and apologize for their advertising campaign that caused a widespread terrorism scare" in Boston.

As part of the settlement, $1 million will be used to reimburse the agencies and $1 million will be used to fund homeland security and other programs. Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc., and Interference Inc. also will issue a public statement accepting full responsibility and apologizing for the incident.

"Last week's events caused a major disruption in the greater Boston area on many levels—crippling public transportation, causing serious traffic problems, negatively affecting local businesses and perhaps most significantly, costing Boston and surrounding communities thousands of dollars," [Attorney General Martha] Coakley said.

Whatever else this story is about, this much seems clear: Boston can no longer be taken seriously as a city. It alone–out of a total of 10 cities subjected to the same ad campaign–spazzed out like this.

Full details on the shakedown here.

David Weigel on "the Boston Two" here.