From Publishing Perpectives:
Is Yale's Cartoon Controversy Just More Publishing Cowardice?
By Sherry Jones
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the decision by Yale University Press to exclude all illustrations of the Prophet Muhammad from a book that discusses them speaks volumes about the culture of fear in which we in the West are living.After consulting with a number of academic and security advisers, the Yale publisher opted to drop the infamous "Danish cartoons" from author Jytte Klausen's book about them, "The Cartoons That Shook the World," out of fears of violent reprisal from Muslim extremists. According to the New York Times, John Donatich, director of the publishing house, said he doesn't want "blood on my hands," employing a twisted, blame-the-victim logic. Are those of us who express views that offend others now responsible for the actions of the offended? (read on ...)


Bonus Material: Yale's Experts Predicted Violence if Cartoons Were Published
By Edward NawotkaYale University's decision not to reproduce the September 30, 2005, Jyllands-Posten cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in Jytte Klausen's The Cartoons That Shook the World is the subject of today's lead editorial by author Sherry Jones. Yale, for its part, issued a statement saying that it had consulted with numerous individuals who warned the school printing the cartoons would cause problems. Four individuals were cited in the statement, including: (read on ...)