There has been ongoing talk over the controversy stirred up by Grey's Anatomy star, Isaiah Washington, after he used a slur in a heated argument directed at a co-star off-camera.
According to an online article, Slur, the big entertainment news headline has created a lot of buzz in the print media.
When the New York Times published a related article, they didn't use the defensive term itself in the huge article. However, the article surrounded that one word and the world of discrimination and ethical issues it brought up.
The Poynter.com writer of this article, Aly Colon, learned what the word was after hearing her colleagues mention what they heard on television. The word not printed was "faggot".
The big media and journalistic controversy is over whether and when it is appropriate to print the word online, in the newspaper, or on air. The writers at Poynter have decided to take the initiative to make such a decision for the journalists.
The writer says that whether to use the word depends more on the reason it is being used rather than the word itself. Journalists, when choosing whether to use it, should consider the purpose, audience, and clarity it would provide to the context.
When discussing the print of foul language, the word itself must be used to see if it is okay.
I can see why this is a big issue, but in keeping with accuracy and honesty and reporting details and facts, this is the main point, the message that has people talking.
People are scared to repeat offensive words, but words matter because they explain, clarify, and inform. One word could cause the whole article to be confusing and unclear if you don't now what it is talking about or what the controversy surrounds exactly.
Using the word is a risk that could offend gay people, but it is not intended to offend readers. It is intended to state the facts of the news article, to be fair, and to be accurate. At the time it was spoken it might have been offensive to the person it was directed at and those around, but the word is printed to explain why it was such a big ordeal and how it is seen as wrong or deserving of consequential action.
The seriousness of the situation can't be explained to the fullest without using the word. This issue over what foul language is okay to print comes up often in the media.
The reputation of the writer will not be in question as it could be for the subject of the article. The mention of the word is not intended to defame or slander the person who used the word or falsify what actually happened or was said.
I'm sure others have different opinions about the use of foul language in print, but how is it different from the spoken word in broadcast news?
-Amy
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3 comments:
HA HA HA ! I think it's enormously funny. I really don't know what to say. I mean who uses the word faggot anymore. Haven't we upgraded the discriminating slurs. It's 2007! No I'm kidding but really he should not have said that. He should have been aware of the invisible yet always there ghost that is the media. You can't say things like that on TV. Someone's always watching.
I agree that celebraties should be more concious about what they say and do, because there's always someone who wants to start trouble with any kind of celeb. However, I have to say that today's society is far to sensitive! With all the concern about getting more people interested in the news, I think they should use more slang words. Lets face it people say faggot! I have said it once or twice in front of gay people and it really depends on the way you say it. Calling my boyfriend a faggot is just the same as calling him a retard or nerd. These words are just a figure of speech, and even when they are said to someone of a specific group it's not usually derogitory but just singling them out. Slang is everywhere! Even professional speakers dont usually sound the same when they talk in their personal life, but why? To sound better educated? I love it when a news anchor "speaks out of line" and looks kind of worried, it's like come on, now you're speaking my language. I just think the media, celebraties, and the general public should talk how they want to talk, and if he said faggot so what. Gay readers, get over it! He didn't say it directly to you!
I think that it was his fault to even mention that word in public let alone on TV. I mean come on what did he think was going to happen? I think that that word is not used as much as it used to be, and now they have a better term for that word. Faggot seems so vulguar now a days comparing to saying someone is fruity, or gay. With the media, and the way it is now in the future he should have been more aware and careful as to what he was saying. I mean he had to know that it would have some kind of repercussions. I think that people on TV that were watching that are gay could have taken offense to that as well as people who have gay friends. Bottom line is that he was stupid enough to say that in public, and now he is suffering the consequences for it.
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