Without Context It’s Only An Ugly Noise

Michael Hedges September 27, 2012 - Follow on Twitter

That words and images have the power to provoke, whether a video uploaded to the internet, a radio or television talk show or a cartoon published in a newspaper, has been amply demonstrated, once again. Demonstrations against words and images offensive to some and delivered both by new and old media moved beyond legitimate protest to violence, destruction and death. Defense of media freedom has been swift and compelling.

“At a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a button, the notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete,” said United States President Barack Obama to the United Nations General Assembly (September 25). “The question, then, is how we respond. And on this we must agree: there is no speech that justifies mindless violence.”

Much of the “mindless violence” that followed the viral distribution of an outlandishly offensive video meant to defame the Prophet Mohammad has been directed at the United States and its overseas missions. The video was produced in the United States by a convicted felon of Egyptian origin. His “free speech” is protected under the United States Constitution. It is a notion incomprehensible to people living where dissent is discouraged if not criminalized.

“Our Founders understood that without such protections,” continued President Obama, “the capacity of each individual to express their own views, and practice their own faith, may be threatened. We do so because in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can become a tool to silence critics, or oppress minorities. We do so because given the power of faith in our lives, and the passion that religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech; the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.”

Days after protests against the video in question (it shall not herein be named) reach their violent crescendo French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published (September 19) a series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in an unflattering light, to be generous, blasphemous to others. After publishing last November an edition satirizing Islam the Charlie Hebdo offices were firebombed. Last week the French government closed embassies and schools in 20 Arab and North African countries. A demonstration to protest the publication was banned in Paris and riot police surrounded the Charlie Hebdo office building. Editor Stephane Charbonnier, who said the cartoons “shock those who will want to be shocked,” announced two parallel editions this week (September 26), one “responsible” and one “irresponsible.”

Authorities in Europe were certainly mindful of the violence following publication in 2005 of a series of cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Five years after those cartoons were published a Somali man linked to terrorist organization al-Shabaab breached the cartoonists home with an axe. The cartoonist remains under 24 hours police protection.

The period of self-censorship ensued following the 2004 assassination of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Dutch-Moroccan with terrorist ties and the 2005 publication of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. Publishers and journalists turned attentions to domestic issues. A period of Islamic fatigue set in, which deepened as local economics moved to the forefront. The Arab Spring revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East have been important stories but distant, literally and figuratively.

That has changed, somewhat. Other satirical publications - El Jueves in Spain and Titanic in Germany – followed Charlie Hebdo with depictions of the Prophet Mohammad, which is considered blasphemous in all forms to Muslims. “If satire simply attracts extremists in a vacuum, then it is right-wing satire,” said Titanic editor Leo Fischer to Der Spiegle (September 20). “Furthermore, insults without cause are boring.”

Focusing entirely on controversial video and reaction to it, newspaper associations WAN IFRA and IPI (International Press Institute) pointed to the importance of context in reporting it all in a diverse and changing global media landscape. “Social media provide a way for people around the world to share instant updates and express a broad range of personal views,” said the joint editorial. “But only traditional news media have the mandate and ability to put the film, the protests and the response to those protests into their political and cultural contexts.” (See the WAN IFRA IPI statement here)

“It’s a complicated world,” the statement concluded. “At times like these, it is more important than ever that the media be free to report on the truth, and that they exercise the judgment to do so in a calm and clear-eyed way. Let us not let the harmful acts of a few…overwhelm the ability of people to be properly informed by the only institutions with a clear mandate to do so: the independent news media.”

See also in ftm Knowledge

Press/Media Freedom - Challenges and Concerns

Press and media freedom worldwide is facing challenges from many corners. As authoritarian leaders impose strict control over traditional and new media with impunity, media watchers have concerns for democracy. This ftm Knowledge file accounts the troubles of this difficult decade. 88 pages. PDF (December 2011)

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