Boycott the fuckers: CNN won’t republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons, will republish al-Qaeda propaganda

That’s the cover of the new edition of Charlie Hebdo, depicting the prophet Muhammad showing solidarity with the victims of the radical Islamist attack on the magazine’s offices last week that killed 12 people. CNN host Carol Costello explained this morning the rationale behind the network’s decision: “CNN will not show you the new cover, which depicts the prophet Muhammad, because it is our policy not to show potentially offensive images of the prophet.”

We thus have two CNN rationales for self-censoring the work of Charlie Hebdo. When the network declined last week to show the edgy caricatures that appeared to have motivated the attack, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker cited safety as an explanation. “Journalistically, every bone says we want to use and should use” the images, Zucker told colleagues. As a manager, however, Zucker said that “protecting and taking care of the safety of our employees around the world is more important right now.”

Boycott the fuckers: CNN won’t republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons, will republish al-Qaeda propaganda 2015-01-13T123613Z_01_PAR101_RTRIDSP_3_FRANCE-SHOOTING

Boycott the fuckers: CNN won’t republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons, will republish al-Qaeda propaganda 2015-01-13T123613Z_01_PAR101_RTRIDSP_3_FRANCE-SHOOTING

Less censorship has applied to the work of al-Qaeda. Just after Wednesday’s attacks, CNN-er Randi Kaye prepared a report on how slain Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier had been targeted by al-Qaeda, a fact reported far and wide in the media. The reporting didn’t stop there. In a package that aired on “Anderson Cooper 360,” Kaye focused on a page from the March 2013 edition of the al-Qaeda magazine “Inspire” that identified a group of targets.

“YES WE CAN. A BULLET A DAY KEEPS THE INFIDEL AWAY. Defend prophet Muhammad peace be upon him,” reads an introduction to the list. In her package, Kaye explained the rest of the presentation: “The poster reads, ‘WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE FOR CRIMES AGAINST ISLAM,’ published by al-Qaeda. Those pictured are primarily people who have criticized or satirized the Muslim faith — in the eyes of militant Islam, punishable by death.” As Kaye provided context, the camera moved slowly across the terror grid, providing viewers the very artistic setup — a “Wanted” poster aimed at agents of free expression, that is — that al-Qaeda sought to place before as large an audience as possible. Again and again, Kaye’s segment returned to the al-Qaeda poster as a visual narrative guide for her reporting, landing on various targets and explaining their predicaments.

Asked for its stance on republishing offensive content from a terrorist publication, a CNN spokeswoman replied, “We’ll decline.” Comment or no-comment, the case for CNN rests on newsworthiness: If ever the al-Qaeda hit list merited some attention, it’s right after a target gets killed in a brutal, planned attack. Consider also that previous segments on the network offered fuzzier and less scannable looks at the most-wanted list.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2015/01/13/cnn-wont-republish-charlie-hebdo-cartoons-will-republish-al-qaeda-propaganda/

Boycott the fuckers: CNN won’t republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons, will republish al-Qaeda propaganda

Boycott the fuckers: CNN won’t republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons, will republish al-Qaeda propaganda

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

More Via AnCaps: Culture, Art & Media