Should media outlets refrain from publishing offensive cartoons?
Posted January 9, 2015 5:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Should media outlets refrain from publishing offensive cartoons?
Since the shootings in Paris, media outlets have been analyzing that question, explains retired journalism professor Ross Howard.
“There are journalists who say, ‘No, you can’t do that kind of thing because it’s so offensive,'” Howard points out.
“And there are other members of the community who are saying ‘We absolutely have the right to know what it is that is so offending to other people.'”
Howard says the diversity of our communities factors into editorial decisions.
“You have to almost justify if you’re going to print something that you know is offensive to some of the members of your very diverse community,” says Howard. “That’s a lot different than not very many years ago.”
Howard also notes that given the majority of journalism is now posted online, stories that might have been seen by a more local, limited audience can now attract worldwide attention.
