Student Editor Fired After Printing Islamic Cartoons
An editor who chose to publish caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in the University of Illinois student-run newspaper last month has been fired, the paper’s publisher announced Tuesday.
Acton H. Gorton was suspended with pay from the Daily Illini several days after the Feb. 9 publication of the cartoons, which sparked Muslim protests around the world after they first appeared in a Danish paper.
At the time, Daily Illini publishers said the action was taken against Gorton not for publishing the cartoons, but for failing to discuss it with others in the newsroom first.
The Illini Media Co. board of directors, which comprises students and faculty, voted unanimously to fire him after a review “found that Gorton violated Daily Illini policies about thoughtful discussion of and preparation for the publication of inflammatory material,” a statement said.
The paper’s opinion page editor, Chuck Prochaska, also was suspended for his role in publishing the cartoons. He declined to be reinstated, the board said.
Gorton and Prochaska have said they decided to move quickly because the cartoons were newsworthy.
Gorton has said that he sought advice from the Daily Illini’s former editor and others before deciding to run the cartoons and that he did not try to hide his decision.
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