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Week of June 10, 2019

Once again, editor terrified by inconvenient opinions
“furore, not debate”

The editorial page has long been esteemed by newspaper publishers. Wide-ranging points of view offered by notable authorities and colorful characters, and sometimes the publisher, has given readers that useful jolt of a new thought. The editorial cartoon fit in just fine; illustrating observations where simple words fail.

That, in effect, may have pushed the New York Times to stop publishing editorial cartoons in international editions, in line with the domestic US edition. There was an editorial cartoon published in April that generated a bit of heat. While that, in itself, is usually sufficient reason for publishing anything on editorial page, the piece by Portuguese cartoonist António Moreira Antunes characterizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in an unflattering way was deemed, by critics, anti-semitic.

Immediately after publication, the NYT removed the cartoon from its sindication service. “The image was offensive, and it was an error of judgement to publish it,” said a statement (April 29). On Monday (June 10), NYT editorial page editor James Bennet went a step further. “For well over a year we have been considering bringing that edition into line with the domestic paper by ending daily political cartoons and will do so beginning 1 July.” Contracts with Swiss cartoonist Patrick Chappatte and Singaporean cartoonist Heng Kim Song have been cancelled.

Chappatte, as he signs his work for Swiss newspapers Le Temps and Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), is well-known for biting commentary on a variety of subjects. “I’m afraid this is not just about cartoons, but about journalism and opinion in general,” he said to Swissinfo (June 11). “We are in a world where moralistic mobs gather on social media and rise like a storm, falling upon newsrooms in an overwhelming blow. This requires immediate counter-measures by publishers, leaving no room for ponderation or meaningful discussions. Twitter is a place for furore, not debate. The most outraged voices tend to define the conversation, and the angry crowd follows in.”

When the harsh Antunes cartoon was originally pulled from the NYT, Chappatte offered in a blog post that “years of work undone by a single cartoon – not even mine – that should never have run in the best newspaper of the world.”

French editorial cartoonists, with crystal clear memories of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo murders, rounded on the NYT. "Humor and disturbing images are part of our democracies,” said Le Monde cartoonist Plantu, quoted by AFP (June 12). It's as stupid as asking children on Mother's Day to stop making drawings for their mothers.” Plantu is a founder of Cartooning For Peace, formed in 2006 with the late UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

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