Editors and a journalism professor offer some insight By Mary Jo Curtis B alancing a community's sensitivities against the constitutional right to free speech is a tricky feat, one that often makes decisions about whether and how to run controversial material difficult even for veteran editors and journalists. An editorial staff should be sensitive to readers, but they must also balance that against a sensitivity to freedom of speech, because that's not just for newspapers. It's also for individuals. But defining offensive, racist or inappropriate material is difficult, Hartnett said, borrowing from a Supreme Court justice's definition of obscenity.
Every situation varies.
The context in which controversial material is presented is crucial, Hartnett noted. Again, he argues, a paper should keep its readers clearly in mind. If an ad is clearly insulting, you run it at your peril. Begleiter said context and presentation can make a difference when a newspaper decides to run a controversial ad. That's the route Frank Graham, editor of the weekly Providence American, said he would take.