To wish our press made a stand for enlightenment values....

[Babycham1979]

....and all published the cartoons of Mohammed on their front covers tomorrow.

The right to freedom of expression and to cause offence are fundamental principles that underpin European values and liberal western democracy; surely the only response to the Charlie Hebdo shootings is for our society to make a stand against this kind of fascist terrorism and show that we can't be cowed by bullying.

Some people may be offended, but that's the price you pay for reaping the benefits of living in a modern, liberal, secular society. If our media bows down to this kind of violence, surely the nut-jobs have won? Self-imposed censorship is still censorship.

Of course the have a responsibility to report the news however I feel there is no need to use the grainy images of the attack on the front pages when in this instance there are so many better alternatives.

Use them within the story, fine, describe the whole event with every gory detail, fine. But don't give them them satisfaction of splashing shocking images across the front pages for all to see and increase the scaremongering. That's exactly what they want and it's uneccessary and dangerous.

The Independent front page is great. But they're a paper who ALWAYS publish alternative front pages.

The fact that they 'always publish alternative front pages' should not take away from the fact that they have, Nancy, and the fact that they are the only ones in Britain that have.

it's a great front page but it's their style. it is not the style of other publications - many of which DO actually carry similar cartoons inside.

It's a tough one as an editor - your instinct is to publish and be damned but yes you have the safety of staff to think about too.

Terrifying that it has come to this

Inside where they're hidden. Great. Where the outside- what everyone sees- is plastered in shocking images. Not good enough IMO

I think people who are not at risk of terrorist violence should be very careful about shouting 'Coward!' at those who are, or might be.

I also agree with everything ouryve said above.

they're not hidden if you read the paper are they?

It's a tough one as an editor - your instinct is to publish and be damned but yes you have the safety of staff to think about too Ubik1

Quite. I work in a production (non-editorial) role at a national newspaper. In my heart I applaud those publishing the cartoons but on the flipside do I want my paper too? Does it make me slightly fearful? If I'm honest, yes. And yes, yes I know fear means the terrorists win blah, blah but really I don't want to come to work and be gunned down. That's my honest, gut feeling. I want my 19 month old ds to grow up with his mum in his life. Editors can make grand decisions but there are sometimes thousands of staff to consider too.

Many interesting points made here.

Obviously we condemn the attacks, as will almost all people, including the people whom the terrorists claim to be for. No one is saying "they asked for it" or "they deserved it".

It is irrelevant whether the cartoons were offensive. Just as our law says you can disarm someone who is attacking you, but you can't then beat him to death once he's no longer a threat.

Republishing the cartoons? Well it does depend on whether they are genuinely offensive to Islam, to me.
We need to rise up as a whole, with the people of Islam, to condemn it together. We won't do any good by outraging and segregating them further. If we stand together and say this is something none of us want-then we have a chance of defeating it.
But if we produce an us and them situation it allows those who orchestrate such things to say "Look, they don't care about us, they will get us if we don't get them first" and people who may well have stood up against it will be persuadable to join and support the terrorists because they feel not accepted by the rest of society.

Republishing the cartoons? Well it does depend on whether they are genuinely offensive to Islam, to me.

why? suck it up. Don't buy the paper if you are offended.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Voltaire didn’t actually say that. Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre said that in her 1906 biographical book The Friends of Voltaire. To be fair she was trying to sum up an attitude he had, but the point remains that it’s totally a misquote.

Sorry. Total tangent. I just always get irritated when I see quotes misattributed. I blame the academic in me.

I think the right to freedom of speech and expression trumps someone's right to be offended.

I'm fuvking offended that people have been massacred over a bloody drawing of a religious figure who doesn't even bloody exist anyway. It's senseless. And offensive.

ouryve....It's possible to disagree with the actions of the terrorists without agreeing with the opinions and actions of the journalists, cartoonists and others that they killed

thank you Ouryve.

only on MN do i come across people who think the concept TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS is somehow 'victim blaming'.

those who have decided to put the welfare of their staff before sensationalism are NOT cowardly. They are acting RESPONSIBLY.

Not one single person who died deserved to die. Those deaths COULD have been prevented but somebody decided to give the order to publish deliberately antangonistic crap KNOWING that a certain group would retaliate. WHERE is the common sense in that?

WE don't need to lower ourselves to the same level as the haters to prove a point.

DeWee, most muslims just ignore that kind of rubbish and get on with their lives. it doesn't affect them.

I'm speechless Sugar
Fuck you very much.

The editor of the Indy was in the radio earlier and basically said that he'd like to have printed a Mo cartoon on the cover, but wouldn't do it unilaterally, due to his duty of care to his staff. He did say, however, that a number of editors have been discussing a coordinated response, intimating that they would only do it if they could all agree to doing it at once (thereby minimising or spreading the individual risk).

My heart would soar to see all Saturday's front pages making a stand for European Enlightenment values and showing solidarity with their dead French colleagues. It won't happen though.

This is about fundamental freedom to express yourself.

This is about art. This is about self expression. This is about basic freedom of speech. In the end it is about someone drawing a picture. And they were killed for it.

Ffs

Indeed, Owlborn, hence me saying I was misquoting him. It is widely attributed to Voltaire, and seemed particularly poignant and appropriate, given the location of the incident and the subject of enlightenment values.

I agree Babycham

SugarOnTop, I'm sorry, but you are an appeaser. And I'm assuming you know what happens - historically speaking - to appeasers?

YANBU. I wish that so much. I wish everybody would put these so-called offensive images on their fb pages, their twitter, their blogs, and all papers too.

Having said that, I have a personal blog with a modest following of +100, plus the usual social media clutter. I thought about doing it, then realised I was too scared. I have two small kids. I don't like myself for being scared, but I am. so I won't do it.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjz16xjeBAA

He's not the messiah!

YANBU!