Posted on 02/15/2006 6:19:24 AM PST by abb
Published: February 14, 2006 11:30 PM ET
CHAMPAIGN Two editors at the University of Illinois student-run newspaper were suspended Tuesday for their decision to run a series of cartoons that have sparked outrage and violence around the Islamic world.
Editor-in-chief Acton H. Gorton said the Daily Illini's publisher suspended him and the newspaper's opinions sections editor, Charles Prochaska, for two weeks pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
"I'm very disappointed. I think this is nothing more than a cover-up," Gorton said.
Publisher and general manager Mary Cory released a statement Tuesday night saying a student task force will "investigate the internal decision-making and communication surrounding the publishing" of the cartoons.
The paper's editorial staff told readers in Monday's editions that the decision to run the cartoons was made by Gorton and Prochaska without their knowledge. While the staff apologized to the Muslim community, it stopped short of saying it disagreed with the decision.
"We want to make it clear that while we do not necessarily disagree with the decision to print these cartoons, we disagree with how they were run," the editorial reads.
According to the editorial, Gorton and Prochaska ran the cartoons without consulting the staff or the publisher.
"The board and publisher reaffirm that final decisions about content in The Daily Illini rest with the editor-in-chief," Cory said Tuesday. "But ... journalistic norms regarding professional behavior dictate that it is the editor's obligation to engage other student editors and student staff members in rigorous discussion and debate of sensitive content."
Gorton and Prochaska ran their own editorial Monday, defending their decision to reprint the cartoons, and even called "irresponsible" the decision by major newspapers around the country not to publish the cartoons.
Gorton said on Tuesday that other editors were in the same room when the cartoons were laid out on the newspaper's pages and did not object.
The Daily Illini, which is independent of the university, ran six of the 12 cartoons first published in September in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten. In the Daily Illini's Feb. 9 edition, it led with the cartoon that has caused the greatest furor: a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb as part of his turban.
Silly editors!
They should have just made fun of Jesus, Mary and all of Christianity in general!
Then they would have been awarded prizes and high accolades from their professional peers and liberal inteligencia.
Whatever happened to the hallowed concept of Academic Freedom? /Sarc.
Ping
Bad First Amendment! Bad!
A student newpaper at Harvard, run by conservatives, ran the some of the Mohammed cartoons and, as you can imagine, it's raining feces on Harvard Yard.
I seriously doubt that. There is too much competition for such praise for anti-Christian propaganda on college campuses.
Dear Editor,
The editors of most of America’s major newspapers are cowards (with the Philadelphia Inquirer an amazing exception). These editors thought nothing of running pictures that put our troops in more danger (such as the New York Times putting Abu Grab pictures on its front page for over 4 weeks) or running fake stories that would incite Muslims worldwide (such as the Newsweek bogus story of Korans in the Toilet). Yet when it comes to putting their own sorry X’s (rhymes with “basses”) on the line, they all of a sudden become all so sensitive and understanding. Somehow, the First Amendment is not all that important if some Islamic nut may do something to you. Shame on all of them. Cowards. Thank God we have braver and better men that refuse to lie down and give up their freedoms so easily.
Regards,
2banana
Or if they were promoting the benefits of homosexuality, that would be fine.
Does anyone know if they published a picture of the offending New York "artist" pictures of Christ on a crucifix in a jar of urine, or the black Madonna in dung?
If so, double standard (nothing unusual for the press).
Link for contact info at the Daily Illini
http://www.dailyillini.com/home/index.cfm?event=viewCustomPage&name=contact
Drexel University's newspaper was going to print the cartoons but received threats from the Muslim club on campus. Something along the lines of, "you saw what happened in Europe and the Middle East, didn't you?"
As a Univesity of Illinois alum (Undergrad '65 & Law '67) this disgusts me to no end. U of I Campaign seems, unfortunately, to be doing its best to emulate the worst aspects of UC Berkley.
That silly free speech thingy in the Constitution..
Something about a chill wind?
no guts, lost glory
coming soon to your town
We might write to extend support to the editors: news@dailyillini.com seems to be the news desk (the editor-in-chief doesn't have a separate e-mail), and opinion@dailyillini.com is the editorial page desk.
If anyone feels like tracking down who to write complaints to, feel free.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.