Why we didn't distribute "Obsession"
My newspaper column
Related posts.
Ted Vaden of the N&O presents another view.
Last weekend, dozens of newspapers across the country distributed a controversial DVD called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" with their advertising circulars.
We weren't one of them, and I want to tell you why.
First, some background: The documentary raised the hackles of religious and political groups. Among other things, it shows Muslim children being encouraged to become suicide bombers and draws numerous parallels between radical Islamists and Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
It has been called inflammatory and hateful. It’s also been called "one of the most important films of our time" by a CNN commentator.
The DVD has been distributed as a paid advertisement in The New York Times, The Miami Herald, The Wall Street Journal and the St. Petersburg Times, among others. In North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer in Raleigh delivered it to readers.
The Clarion Fund, a nonprofit organization founded in 2006, paid for the distribution. The group’s Web site says its "primary focus is on the most urgent threat of radical Islam."
The cover of the DVD also notes: "The threat of radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today. But it's a topic that neither the presidential candidates nor the media are discussing openly. It's our responsibility to ensure we can all make an informed vote in November."
News & Record advertising director Catherine Kernels and president and publisher Robin Saul made the decision not to distribute the DVD.
"It didn't meet our advertising standards," Robin told me. "We were told its purpose was educational. We didn't see it as educational at all. It was fear-mongering and divisive."
The documentary begins with a statement: "This is a film about radical Islamic terrorism. A dangerous ideology, fueled by religious hatred. It's important to remember most Muslims are peaceful and do not support terror. This is not a film about them. This is a film about a radical worldview, and the threat it poses to us all, Muslim and non-Muslim alike."
But according to some viewers, that introduction doesn't go far enough.
"We feel that it’s going to incite more hate and bigotry against our community," Altaf Ali, Florida chapter director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The Miami Herald.
Robin said that when our newspaper is invited into readers' homes, we need to be mindful of what readers expect in the way of credible, helpful information. This didn't qualify.
"We felt this would not make our citizens more informed," Robin said.
Because the DVD came to us as paid advertising, I was not involved in the decision. But I watched "Obsession" last week on YouTube so that I could make my own judgment. It wasn't particularly informative or interesting.
As a journalist, my default position is to provide people with more knowledge, however troubling, rather than less. Were this truly an issue of the freedom of information, I would have argued to publish. But this was a paid advertisement presenting one side of an inflammatory issue.
In the meantime, hardly a day goes by when we don't publish news about a suicide bombing, a roadside massacre, a threatening message from al-Qaeda or a reminder of Sept. 11, 2001. Radical Islamic terrorism isn’t far from our readers' attention.
Comments (10)
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As an American Muslim who is dismayed at the ease with which our political and media leaders can smear my religion and use Islamaphobia for their own gains, it brings hope to my heart when I hear about people such as yourselves who take a principled stand against such bigotry. I am humbled that your newspaper did not promote Obsession. If only there were more conscientious people in your position who would take such a stand, we could all move past fear mongering and ideological slogans and have real constructive dialogue to solve our problems.
Posted on September 21, 2008 5:12 PM
Allright! Congrats to JR! The ship FINALLY came in, baby!
Bank that puppy before the police dept discrimination suits hit, for sure!
JR's buyin'!
Posted on September 22, 2008 10:04 AM
We're having a party. Everybody's dancin'
A year or so from now. JR , Julius and Jimmy.
See you at Heaven, or "Much" or some such.
Posted on September 22, 2008 11:17 AM
What are those comments referring to?
I applaud you and the paper for doing the right thing even as your peers across the country went for the money.
Posted on September 22, 2008 8:18 PM
Amir, I was talking about getting over on The Boro for some casherooney.
Now your turn.
Posted on September 23, 2008 9:03 AM
Censorship is wrong. For years the left told us how wrong it was to censor anything people found offensive for the sake of "free speech". Now many on the left practice that same censorship they railed against for the sake of "tolerance". I'm not afraid of what anyone says as long as they don't tell people to hurt other people. "Tolerance" is the new excuse by the left for censorship of free speech.
Posted on October 4, 2008 3:37 AM
It's not censorship to refuse payment for the distribution of propaganda. JR, thanks to your paper for its principled stand.
Posted on October 4, 2008 9:49 PM
As an American and a resident of Greensboro, I am totally amazed at the absurdity of the decision not to share this critical information!!What are we going to do when these radicals wipe us off the face of the Earth as they say they will do??? I watched the DVD and see just how close they are to doing just that. Boo on the News & Record - most of all to JR for allowing someone else to make the call!!!!!!!!!!
Posted on October 10, 2008 6:35 PM
You think they are close to wiping us off the face of the Earth because of what you saw on that video? I'd say that in itself is why we didn't distribute it.
Posted on October 10, 2008 7:16 PM
I live in Lexington, and yesterday my household got 2 copies of the DVD in the mail. (I wanna know how we ended up so heavily represented on *that* mailing list!)
It intrigued me enough to look up the "Clarion Fund" on the web, which led me here (among other places: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43983 is an interesting article about the group that produced the film.)
I just want to add my congratulations to the editor and his ad staff for making a principled decision not to carry the DVD. It's surely no coincidence that this movie is being distributed right now, and there's been more than enough fearmongering in this election so far.
PS - I don't see it at all as a matter of suppressing information; Robinson includes the YouTube link in his post, and if we got 2 copies in the mail I'm sure lots of others are getting them too. These things are probably as easy to get as AOL discs were 10 years ago!
Posted on October 12, 2008 5:00 PM