Jackie Vieceli, an MSU political scientist, sees the decision to publish the cartoons as a bad choice given “these specific times” and says the newspaper could have caricatured an Islamic political figure instead.
“Technically, they have the right to publish as free speech, but it’s in really poor taste, really dumb and irresponsible,” Vieceli said. “You have the right but we shouldn’t necessarily use our right because it can do more harm than good.”
John Gaterud, an MSU associate professor of mass communications who responded strictly from the perspective of a media observer said, “While reasonable people can argue definitions of “taste,” it also seems important that editors, publishers and broadcasters recognize, appreciate and value various worldviews beyond their own.
“Otherwise they can get ensnared, even unwittingly, in their own ethnocentric traps. In this case, the fallout from ongoing violence over the cartoons has certainly throttled Western sensibilities. That many American newspapers and TV stations, for example, have refrained from republishing these pieces may show that any number of editorial and/or ethical considerations are being weighed in those newsrooms,” Gaterud said.
