AddThis SmartLayers

Editor makes 'hardest decision' over Charlie Hebdo

Peter BarronA regional daily editor says his decision not to publish an image of this week’s Charlie Hebdo front cover in his paper was the “hardest decision” of his time in the role.

Peter Barron, who edits the Darlington-based Northern Echo, decided against printing an image from the French satirical magazine – which lost eight of its staff during last week’s Paris terrorist attacks.

This week’s edition of Charlie Hebdo features a cartoon image of the Muslim prophet Muhammad holding a ‘Je Suis Charlie’ (which translates as ‘I am Charlie’) placard popularised by free speech demonstrators in the wake of the atrocities.

Peter, pictured left, who shared a reproduction of the front cover on his personal Twitter account, described the decision not to publish it in yesterday’s issue of the Echo as “the hardest decision in my time as an editor” on the social networking site.

Explaining his decision further in an editorial blog, he added: “There are valid arguments for and against re-publishing the front cover of this week’s edition of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, and here at The Northern Echo we have debated long and hard over which position to take.

“We do not believe that bravery or cowardice defines that position. Nor do we share the view of some, on either side of the debate, that the decision is straightforward.

“We completely support the right of the French satirical magazine to be free to make its own judgement to publish a front page cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, in defiance of last week’s Islamist terror attacks.

“Ever since the killings in and around Paris, we have played our small part in supporting the Je Suis Charlie campaign, which has seen people all over the world stand up for the freedom of expression.

“But that freedom should also respect the right of other publishers to take a different view.”

The Echo had run a piece by Tahir Selby, an Imam at a Hartlepool mosque, who urged the title not to print the image due to the offence it would cause Muslims.

Peter added: “He speaks up powerfully in defence of free speech, condemns terrorism, but explains why depicting the Prophet is so offensive to Muslims.

“In his piece, he respectfully asks The Northern Echo not to print the Charlie Hebdo cartoon but to use wisdom and judgement.

“It is a fine line but we have exercised our freedom to decide not to print the cartoon. Many will disagree with that decision but it was not reached through fear or bowing to pressure.

“It was reached through respect for the feelings and beliefs of the vast majority of decent, moderate Muslims like Tahir Selby.”

Elsewhere Peter Rhodes, columnist at the Express & Star, Wolverhampton, has given his take on the ‘Je Suis Charlie’ movement, arguing that there is “no absolute right” to freedom of expression.

He wrote: “Sorry, folks, but after much consideration, Je ne suis pas Charlie.

“I will march against terrorism. I will march in sorrow and solidarity with the bereaved. I will march in rage and despair at the premeditated slaughter of fellow journalists. But I will not march to defend the absolute right to freedom of expression.

“There is no such right, and nor should there be.

“The dismay and anger over cartoons showing Mohammed [sic] is not restricted to the wilder fringes of Islamism.

“It is right at the heart of the beliefs and traditions of Muslims who make up 10pc of the French population.

“It offends the very people whose help we most need to defeat the psychopaths of jihadism.”

Peter Barron’s editorial, which contains a link to Tahir Selby’s piece, can be found here.

To read the full Peter Rhodes column, click here.

29 comments

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • January 15, 2015 at 8:31 am
    Permalink

    I think the reason our media has not used images is a simple one.
    They do not fancy an attack on their premises. Understandable.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 8:33 am
    Permalink

    Bowed to pressure. When the world is Charlie, Darlington is not.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • January 15, 2015 at 8:35 am
    Permalink

    If the nationals have all bottled it – which I consider institutional cowardice – then a regional editor would be foolhardy indeed to go it alone. Apart from the Islamic reaction I suspect the industry itself would turn on him/her, led faithfully by the PC zealots of the BBC.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 9:19 am
    Permalink

    The regional media joining in on the Charlie bandwagon. That leaves me cold.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • January 15, 2015 at 9:34 am
    Permalink

    Agree with Observer, why was there even a decision for the Northern Echo in Darlington to make? There was no for them to even consider running the image. Wish regionals would stop having delusions of grandeur thinking they have to weigh in on national and international news.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • January 15, 2015 at 9:39 am
    Permalink

    Surely there is a responsibility that must weigh in the balance with freedom of expression? Images of the prophet Muhhammad are deeply offensive to Muslims and in a just, fair world, any publication would have complete freedom to publish such images – and would then choose not to in the interests of respecting other faiths. Would those here who are quick to criticise the nationals and regionals for ‘bottling it’ also be quick to publicly defend the right of people to burn poppies and publish the images online, in the interest of freedom of expression?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 10:02 am
    Permalink

    The Northern Echo exercised its freedom not to publish.
    Those who are criticising the paper cannot not be classed as defenders of free speech.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 10:24 am
    Permalink

    It’s not bottling it, at national or regional level. It’s respect. Well done Peter Barron for listening to your local readership. And PS, the whole world is NOT Charlie. I suspect that apart from the noisy zealots of the self-centred media, the world is with Peter. Did anyone out there notice that over the weekend when 12 people got shot by fanatics in Paris, Boko Haram murdered 2000 people in Nigeria? No. Thought not. They weren’t journalists. Talk about first world problems!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 10:24 am
    Permalink

    Just because you can do something does not mean you must do it.

    It’s an ethical judgement. It is what being an editor is all about.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 10:36 am
    Permalink

    The journalists who ridicule Islam and Christianity are too often just showing off like spoiled public school brats. They pretend to be left wing, but they are not interested in bread for the workers. They pretend to be for freedom of speech, but in the main they mean freedom for their own tiny self-appointed elites to abuse everybody else.
    The French media is full of people like that, members of what used to be derisively called the intelligentsia who when they talk about the right to free expression mean their right to publish obscenity.
    The recent events in France were a terrible tragedy, but let’s not get carried away with false emotion. Unfortunately, the French are good at that as their many revolutions and demonstrations testify.
    Ps Any journalist who cannot define obscenity should get out of the media.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 11:00 am
    Permalink

    It’s a thousand pities that every branch of the media has not used the image and been stronger. They have caved in with perhaps understandable fear of attack. Yet a small newsagent in west London has been selling the French paper with the image. Brave man or foolish?
    The BBC fleetngly showed the prophet’s image and Sky News has not, for example.

    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. The Vicar of Dibley and Citizen Khan too.
    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.”

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 11:07 am
    Permalink

    Many of the people on the Charlie bandwagon would flip to the opposite end of the spectrum if the issue was one of the Northern Echo committing to freedom of expression by taking however much off the BNP to publish a full-page ad.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 11:32 am
    Permalink

    Freedom of expression with responsibility is what all media outlets need to be reminded of.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 12:52 pm
    Permalink

    Spadeadam. French good at false emotion? Merde.What about Brits travelling to lay piles of flowers in tribute to people they never knew of which Princess Diana was worst manifestation of mawkish behaviour. No one does a misery fest better than a Brit!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 1:09 pm
    Permalink

    There’s a big difference between ‘poking fun’ and doing something which is deeply offensive to people of another religion. It’s a question of respect and understanding. Those who criticise papers for failing to publish the cartoon lack both – and are applying far more pressure than the people they wrongly believe have dictated the decision.
    As Peter Barron has shown, freedom of speech does not force you to offend. You can still choose not to do so.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 1:10 pm
    Permalink

    The Northern Echo has been sucked into the Charlie debate in the same manner it got duped into publishing jingoistic coverage (complete with full-broadsheet page cartoons of Saddam Hussein) in the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
    There is a growing tendency in the media to jump onto the latest bandwagon without considering the consequences once the hysteria has subsided. It’s easy to say “I am Charlie” while everyone else is saying it. It’s not so easy to say “I am the innocent family which has just been wiped out by a drone”, or “I am the Al Jazeera journalists murdered by American bombs”.
    We have a problem with Muslim terrorism in this country but no one in the media is asking why we have that problem. This first step to a peaceful world – and the duty of the media – is to expose its causes, not establish a right to insult.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • January 15, 2015 at 1:11 pm
    Permalink

    Good editorial call by Pete Barron to support the right of Charlie Hebdo to publish the prophet cartoon while explaining the his own decision to spike it.
    Contrary to their patronising behaviour, columnists on London-based nationals don’t have a monopoly of journalistic wisdom.
    And they certainly don’t have anything to teach the regionals about newspaper ethics.
    The Northern Echo’s founding news ethos was established by the great 19th century editor and nationwide social campaigner W.T.Stead.
    Nearly 150 years on, he’s hardly likely to be turning in his grave over the paper’s Charlie Hebdo coverage.
    For Stead, a clergyman’s son, knew a thing or two about bringing people together.
    That knowledge nearly won him a Nobel Peace Prize.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 1:25 pm
    Permalink

    As soon as I read the HTFP headline on the homepage, I just knew who this story would be about.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(3)
  • January 15, 2015 at 1:37 pm
    Permalink

    At least we didn’t have to hear how Mr Barron wrestled with his conscience to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

    If anyone is looking for a ‘bandwagon’ to jump on then it could be highlighting the annual and largely unreported slaughter of journalists beyond Europe’s borders (sometimes not that far beyond) for simply doing their job.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • January 15, 2015 at 1:59 pm
    Permalink

    Well done Peter Rhodes, W Mid, for being so honest and open. Now can i have your telephone / mobile numbers, bank details and passport? No? Darn it!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 2:28 pm
    Permalink

    Frank Brown is talking trash. The Northern Echo has a long, campaigning tradition under editors like W T Stead and Harold Evans and, like any other self-respecting paper of its kind, has a duty to lead the way in local, regional and national issues.
    Anyway, big regionals like the NE, the Birmingham Post, The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post, have always regarded national and international news as an integral part of their product, just as all US metropolitan dailies do.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 15, 2015 at 4:45 pm
    Permalink

    Goodness me!

    What is Peter Barron doing even considering publishing the cartoon?

    What link is there to the North East?

    It’s no wonder regional newspapers’ circulation is imploding if they still think publishing ‘old’ national news is of interest to their readers.

    Get a grip. This is the most embarrassing, self indulgent pile of tripe I have ever seen on HTFP

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • January 15, 2015 at 7:38 pm
    Permalink

    Not sure what the whole thing has got to do with local press, to be honest.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • January 16, 2015 at 9:35 am
    Permalink

    The decision to publish or not publish is in itself freedom of expression. The very fact there is a debate about this shows that one of our key freedoms has already been significantly eroded.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 16, 2015 at 9:56 am
    Permalink

    I don’t normally comment on Hold The Front Page but I just want to make a couple of points. I’m often described in comments on this site as a “self-publicist”. I write a blog explaining some of the decisions made and initiatives taken. HTFP takes my comments from that blog, usually without my knowledge. It is not a case of me seeking the publicity – honest. I’m usually as surprised as anyone when I’m the source of a HTFP story. That’s what happened re the Charlie Hebdo decision.
    Also, the reason national issues are important to The Northern Echo is that 70% of its readers don’t buy a national. We publish five UK/World pages a day. The terror attack in Paris was a big story.
    Thanks.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 16, 2015 at 10:37 am
    Permalink

    The Northern Echo has always carried national and international news, in common with many other regional newspapers. This is because a large percentage of its readers do not buy a national newspaper and therefore it is of interest to them. You may not agree with Peter Barron’s decision – I’m not sure I do – but it was a decision that had to be made.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • January 16, 2015 at 12:34 pm
    Permalink

    Right of reply:
    You have a good point, newshound. What is worrying me is when politicians use popular emotion to serve their own political ends They often resort to powerful media organisations for their questionable activities, the humble journalists of which have to follow the party line.
    The French have been secretly supplying weapons to radical Islamists in Syria for years now (the same sort of terrorists who are causing mayhem in their own country).
    I can tell you that the name of France is mud in those parts because there are still many Syrians who still speak about the last war when Frenchman fought Frenchman in Syria, their own bloody civil struggle in what is someone else’s country.
    Another HTFP contributor alludes to the Gulf War of 2003. I remember that when the first Gulf War started the Tindle group put out an order that none of their God-knows-how-many editors had to publish anything criticising the war effort.
    Why? It wasn’t 1940. Britain did not face imminent invasion, and we had entered into a war we couldn’t lose. This was a clear case of censorship by an influential English newspaper group against the public interest on a matter that was of vital importance to every man and woman in this country.
    Freedom of expression is not the sole prerogative of media tycoons.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)