{"id":6869,"date":"2010-08-23T18:07:01","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T22:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=6869"},"modified":"2013-05-10T15:26:50","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T19:26:50","slug":"defamation-of-religion-an-american-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2010\/08\/23\/defamation-of-religion-an-american-perspective\/6869\/","title":{"rendered":"Defamation of Religion: An American Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 1999, several predominantly Muslim countries have campaigned for the United Nations to adopt an international ban on defaming religion. The United States has consistently opposed such a ban, arguing that it would violate freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. From August 9-13, 2010, the Media Project<\/a> sponsored a conference in Jakarta, Indonesia for journalists from around the world to discuss regional perspectives on banning defamation of religion and how such measures could affect freedom of the press. Watch a video report produced by Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly managing editor Kim Lawton and presented at the conference.<\/p>\n

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How does the defamation debate affect members of the news media in the US? Read an excerpt from Kim Lawton\u2019s conference paper:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is nearly impossible to be a journalist and not insult someone,\u201d says Debra Mason, director of the Center on Religion & the Professions at the Missouri School of Journalism. \u201cWhether or not we insult someone should not be the factor that determines whether or not we cover a story or how we cover a story.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mason asserts that journalism is a profession which must be guided by a code of ethics and shared values of fairness, accuracy, and balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to certain \u2018fault lines\u2019, including religion, journalists must take extra care and make sure they are not making fun or mocking or insulting someone based on their beliefs,\u201d she says. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we ignore scandals or abuses by prominent religious leaders, but it does mean we don\u2019t intentionally do something that is anathema to a particular group if it\u2019s not essential to our reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the case of the Danish cartoons, American news media outlets wrestled intensely over whether showing the cartoons was essential in reporting about the controversy. Most major American newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times decided not to print the cartoons. The Associated Press wire service also chose not to distribute them. Most major television news broadcasts followed suit, with the exception of ABC and CNN, which only ran a disguised version of one cartoon.
\nReligion & Ethics NewsWeekly also reported on the protests without running the cartoons. We do broadcast images of Muhammad from classical art, but we don\u2019t have a specific rule of thumb for what crosses the line. The decision not to run the controversial cartoons came after much internal debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the cartoons were the cause of so much tension and potential violence, I felt we should not unnecessarily inflame or add to that,\u201d says Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly executive producer Arnold Labaton. \u201cIt was troublesome not showing them, but it wasn\u2019t that they weren\u2019t available elsewhere, such as on the Internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Labaton, \u201cWe have to consider the bounds of responsible behavior. That probably was a capitulation, but it was a capitulation I could live with.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision of so many news outlets against running the cartoons came under strong criticism, including a stinging editorial in the Washington Post co-written by conservative analyst William Bennett and liberal attorney Alan Dershowitz.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo put it simply,\u201d they wrote, \u201cradical Islamists have won a war of intimidation. They have cowed the major news media from showing these cartoons.\u201d <\/p>\n

The two went on to complain of a double standard, noting that the same media outlets didn\u2019t hesitate to publish a controversial art exhibit depicting the Virgin Mary covered in dung.<\/p>\n

But Mason of the Missouri School of Journalism argues there was a difference in the situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one was rioting or dying in regard to the art exhibit,\u201d she says. \u201cJournalists must use judgment whenever violence or mayhem is involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Eckstrom, editor of Religion News Service, a news organization that exclusively covers issues of religion, acknowledges that this beat \u201ctends to be more radioactive than others.\u201d But, he says, \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we should shirk our duties as story-tellers and truth-tellers. Reporters should be respectful of the beliefs of religious groups, be aware of the problems that can go with that, and be ready to defend their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

There may not be easy answers, but many Americans believe it\u2019s vital to continue the discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price of denying free speech is too high,\u201d says Labaton.<\/p>\n

Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Washington, DC-based Hudson Institute, agrees. She says America must never forsake its interwoven tradition of freedom of the press, free speech, and freedom of religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe great genius of America is that we’re a very pluralistic society, and we’re all able to get along,\u201d she says. \u201cThe key to that harmony\u2014and we do have contentious debate\u2014is freedom of speech and freedom of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kim Lawton looks at how the US works out the sometimes complicated relationship between freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. More →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":17110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2206,321,7742,4982,8366,7971,6451,6751,2222,4967,8380,417,17911,8367,8377,8381,7967,8382,7815,8372,7541],"class_list":["post-6869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abraham-foxman","tag-barack-obama","tag-barry-lynn","tag-censorship","tag-danish-cartoons","tag-defamation","tag-first-amendment","tag-freedom-of-religion","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-freedom-of-the-press","tag-ibraham-hooper","tag-islam","tag-muslim","tag-news-organizations","tag-nina-shea","tag-prophet-muhammad","tag-rashad-hussain","tag-south-park","tag-stephen-prothero","tag-the-media-project","tag-thomas-farr","topics-international","faith-muslim"],"yoast_head":"\nDefamation of Religion: An American Perspective | 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