For the record
For some reason this story didn't make it online, but as you may know the San Diego Union-Tribune is one of the majority of American papers that have refused to run the controversial Muhammed cartoons. The following is editor Karin Winner's explanation that appeared in Tuesday's paper.
Karin Winner, editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune, said, "The issue of the cartoons brings into focus one of the most difficult decisions that editors have to make. Is our primary responsibility to print everything, regardless of who may be offended, or to show restraint and invite criticism from those who would accuse us of hiding the truth?"
She added, "Right now, my concern for our Muslim community overrides the news value of publishing any of the cartoons. The cartoons have been well-described in these pages over the past few days."
My readers know that I wholeheartedly disagree with this position -- which is why I'm not in charge.
0 comments on “For the record”
Tags
[...] The San Diego Union-Tribune is one of the vast majority of American newspapers who have failed in their public duty. The first excuse was “concern” for the Muslim community. The second excuse was that not enough people had died due to the cartoons for them to be newsworthy. At the time you had approximately two dozen dead from cartoon-related violence in Pakistan and Libya and another dozen in Nigeria. As of Thursday, the number dead in cartoon-inspired rioting and reprisals was up to 146. It makes you wonder if the “magic number” for publishing the cartoons is 150, or whether 200 deaths are needed. [...]