Freedom of Speech at the Daily Illini

An editor at the college newspaper The Daily Illini was sacked for publishing the Danish cartoons of Mohammed that stirred up paid jihadist thugs around the world—months after they were published and when the Iranians viewed such demonstrations as politically expedient, of course.

But wait! The editor wasn't really fired for publishing the cartoons:

At the time, Daily Illini publishers said the action was taken against [Acton H.] Gorton not for publishing the cartoons, but for failing to discuss it with others in the newsroom first.

So, what we have here is merely a failure to communicate. Note this careful dodge, at which academics are the true masters. They did, in fact, fire Gorton for publishing the cartoons. But they will never say so. They will employ another legalistic reason for having done so, using it as a smoke screen for their real reason, which is censhorship of someone who had the timerity to violate the journalistic tenets of the Gramscian academic left:

The Illini Media Co. board of directors, which comprises students and faculty, voted unanimously to fire the editor after a review "found that Gorton violated Daily Illini policies about thoughtful discussion of and preparation for the publication of inflammatory material," according to a statement.

Now we all know how upset these people would have been had Gorton run an anti-Bush cartoon, a hate-Israel screed, or a photo of Piss Christ. That's right, he'd have been nominated for a college journalism prize for "hard-hitting reporting." No "thoughtful discussion" would have been needed. No regard for the taboos and sensitivities of others. These sanctimonious bastards are really quite good at maintaining their ruthless double-standards, aren't they?

Gorton has said he sought out advice from The Daily Illini's former editor-in-chief and others before deciding to run the cartoons. He has said that accusations he tried to hide his decision were wrong.

On Tuesday, he called his firing a blow against free speech on college campuses.

One of dozens of daily blows, we might add. Another (ex) editor adds a bit more:

The paper's opinions page editor, Chuck Prochaska, also was suspended for his role in publishing the cartoons. He declined to be reinstated, the board said.

Prochaska said he and Gorton moved quickly to publish the cartoons because they were newsworthy.

"We had a news story on our hands, with violence erupting about imagery, but you can't show it because of a taboo, because of a taboo that's not a Western taboo but a Muslim taboo?" he said. "That's a blow to journalism."

Prochaska's onto something, eh? We'd advise him not to attempt eventual employment at the MSM, however. He and Gorton have already been blackballed. That's because the MSM, like the Gramscian leftists running the Daily Illini, can't handle the truth.