Top editors at several U.S. news publications known for publishing provocative covers and cartoons were silent Wednesday after a satirical French magazine was attacked by gunmen reportedly claiming to have “avenged the Prophet Mohammad.”
Editors at the New York Post, New York Daily News and the New Yorker — all of which have reputations for regularly touching readers’ nerves with controversial magazine and tabloid covers — either declined to comment on the matter or did not answer media requests from the Washington Examiner. The same went for Time magazine.
News outlets across the world were shaken when reports emerged that 12 journalists and cartoonists of the magazine Charlie Hebdo were killed in apparent retaliation for Charlie Hebdo’s publishing of racy cartoons that mock the Muslim prophet Muhammed.
While many journalists and press freedom groups spoke out to condemn the attack against free speech, the incident is of particular concern for the editors at news publications known for pushing the envelope with provocative headlines and images. Media watchers will be looking to them to see how they react to an attempt to stifle journalistic expression.
The New York Post and Time did, however, publish opinion columns denouncing the attacks. “Terror in Paris shows the limits of appeasement,” read one column in the Post. At Time, culture critic James Poniewozik wrote that, “[N]o matter who you are or what you like, these attacks are also attacks on you.”
