The editor of the student newspaper at the University of Illinois has been fired for published the infamous 12 caricatures of Muhammed. The board of the paper did not say that he was fired for flagrantly and wantonly committing journalism, but they might as well have.
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My understanding from a student there (who is fairly libertarian) is that the editors weren't fied for running the cartoons.
They were fired for running the editorial w/o a vote of the editorial board. Apparently the policies require that any potentially contentious editorial (or cartoon) must be voted on by the entire editorial board.
The two who ran these bypassed that step.
The editor denies that this is the case and says that he followed the rules. I have no way of knowing what's right. But I'd have the same problem with the paper if they voted not to run the pictures. It's clearly newsworthy and important and should be covered. What he did is commit journalism.
As a graduate of the U of I, I find the stance by the editorial board to be outrageous. If they want to fight against caricaturing other cultures they should devote their resources to pressing for the elimination of the Chief Illiniwek mascot, not to firing editors for running newsworthy items.
As a graduate of the U of I, I find the stance by the editorial board to be outrageous. If they want to fight against caricaturing other cultures they should devote their resources to pressing for the elimination of the Chief Illiniwek mascot, not to firing editors for running newsworthy items.
Oops, sorry for the double post!
It's "Sense of Humor", not "Censoring Humor"
It's always good to be reminded that the freedom of speech* is alive and well worldwide.
* Many restrictions apply. Offer not good in Iran, China, or anywhere political leaders are struggling in the polls. Freedom not available to government employees, their family members, or anyone who has something critical to say. Your government reserves the right to modify the terms of this freedom at any time without notification.