Regional newsrooms have united to pay their respects to the victims of Wednesday’s terrorist massacre in France.
The attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris left 12 dead, 10 staff and two policemen, and is believed to have been carried out by Islamist militants.
Newspapers including the Belfast Telegraph, Yorkshire Post and Northern Echo featured the story on their front pages today.
Meanwhile newsrooms across the UK observed a minute’s silence in memory of those who died at 11am, such as the one pictured below at the Manchester Evening News.
Ahead of this morning’s silence Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “The NUJ, together with journalists and their unions around the world, has condemned this attack as an attempt to gag press freedom and attack the entire profession.”
Lynne Anderson, News Media Association deputy chief executive, said: “The News Media Association condemns these attacks in the strongest possible terms. Free speech is a fundamental right and those who seek to suppress it through violence are attacking not just journalism and the press but also the fundamental values of democratic society.”
Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of Editors, added: “The terrorist attack on a magazine in Paris was this time aimed at a media organisation but it was in fact an attack on the whole of civilised society – including Islam.
“What is important is that it must not be allowed to interfere with freedom of expression to which everyone is entitled, including those with whom we disagree.”
An editorial in today’s Belfast Telegraph, the front page of which is pictured below, reads: “Yesterday’s massacre was not just an attack on Charlie Hebdo but on Press freedom.
“In any democracy the freedom of the media to criticise, mock, offend or satirise should be defended to the last. We have seen that freedom challenged many times in this country by both politicians and fanatics.
“This newspaper was bombed in 1976 by the IRA but that did not prevent it publishing again the next day and continuing to denounce violence from all quarters.
“Fanatics, no matter what their cause, can never be allowed to undermine an essential freedom.”
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It’s only right that we should salute, remember and stand four square behind these brave French journalists who made the ultimate sacrifice in the battle for free speech.
They were fighting in the frontline of this classic conflict and paid a horrific price in the brutal, evil onslaught on their magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris yesterday.
This deadly assault was an attack on freedom and liberty, the right to express views, thoughts and ideas no matter how irreverent, and every single journalist all over the world should support those noble ideals.
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I now look forward to a loud, unequivocal condemnation of this outrage from every law-abiding muslim organisation in Britain. Speak up, chaps – we can’t hear you at the back!
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In the interests of ‘diversity’, ‘inclusivity’ and other pseudo-liberal claptrap, news editors throughout the land should be encouraging all muslim journalists to write ‘think’ pieces about the Paris atrocity condemning the perpetrators and declaring themselves implacably opposed to all attacks on freedom of expression.
This would demonstrate their commitment to the kind of society they have bought into and make known to extremists that their lethal fanaticism has neither sympathy nor support from ‘civilised’ muslims.
Timorous silence is not, I’m afraid, an option.
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What a couple of stupid, naive comments above.
Why should every law-abiding Muslim organisation or individual be rounded up and made to condemn the Paris atrocity? They didn’t do it and should feel no more pressure to speak out than anyone else.
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Frank, here is the inconvenient truth…
http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/7-7-bombings-justified-say-a-quarter-of-british-muslims-1-994602
And those are just the ones prepared to admit their views to a pollster.
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Many papers and the radio/TV companies tiptoe round not publishing anything which might offend muslims.
Yet for years we had Dave Allen and now modern comedians poking fun at the RC church and others for instance. We must all try to treat all faiths equally and not be afraid that gun toting thugs will come to our newsrooms because they’ve had their faith “insulted.”
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