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| US Student Editor Fired for Anti-Muslim Cartoons |
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| The Associated Press (apwire) |
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Published 2006-03-15 12:09 (KST) |
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CHAMPAIGN, Illinois
The editor who chose to publish in a student-run university newspaper six of the cartoons that caused violence in the Islamic world has been fired, the publisher of the newspaper announced.
Acton H. Gorton and his opinions page editor, Chuck Prochaska, were suspended from The Daily Illini at the University of Illinois with pay days after the Feb. 9 publication of the cartoons, which first appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
Daily Illini publishers said at the time that the action was taken not for publishing the cartoons but for failing to discuss it with others in the newsroom first.
"The Illini Media Co. board of directors _ following a thorough review, a report by a student task force of senior members of the staff, and a hearing with Gorton _ found that Gorton violated Daily Illini policies about thoughtful discussion of and preparation for the publication of inflammatory material," a Tuesday statement from the publishing company's board said.
The board, which is comprised of University of Illinois students and faculty, voted unanimously to fire Gorton, the statement said.
Interim editors in chief, Shira Weissman and Jason Koch, offered to reinstate Prochaska, but he declined, it added.
"The board is disappointed with this outcome and regrets that Gorton's actions necessitated his termination less than three months into his one-year term," the Tuesday statement said. "But the board believes this conclusion is in the best interests of The Daily Illini newsroom and will allow the student journalists to carry on with the newspaper's 135-year-old tradition of a vibrant, independent student press."
The publication of the cartoons sparked protests from Muslim students at the University of Illinois. The editors' suspension from the independent publication also raised a fresh discussion of ethics and free speech in college newsrooms.
Prochaska and Gorton have said earlier that they decided to move quickly to publish the cartoons because they were newsworthy. Gorton has said he sought out advice from The Daily Illini's former editor-in-chief and others before deciding to run the cartoons and said accusations that he tried to hide his decision are wrong.
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On the Net:
Daily Illini: http://www.dailyillini.com
The Northern Star: http://www.northernstar.info
Student Press Law Center: http://www.splc.org |
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©2006 OhmyNews
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