Charlie Hebdo attack: Censorship and freedom of expression

Note of sympathy
A pair of pencils and a note offering sympathy to the victims of the Paris shootings are placed on a wall at the French Embassy on January 8, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. France is on maximum security threat level after twelve people were killed, including two police officers, at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. French Police have made seven arrests in connection with the attack in which they have named two main suspects, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi. A further blow to the country came this morning when a gunman killed a policewoman in the southern suburb of Montrouge.
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

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Charlie Hebdo revealed its first cover since an attack last week that left 10 of its staff members and two police officers dead. The attack against the publication, known for pushing boundaries, has sparked an international discourse on how those boundaries are drawn.

On The Daily Circuit, "On The Media" Host Brooke Gladstone and Phillip Bennett, director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, discussed censorship and expression.

Not publishing the cartoon is a disservice to the audience, Gladstone said:

Today's Question: Do you view freedom of expression differently following the Charlie Hebdo attacks?

Learn more about freedom of expression:

• Charlie Hebdo cover pressing debate over whether to show it (MPR News)
• Be glad someone had the courage to be Charlie (Financial Times)
• Nous Sommes Tous Charlie: Defend Freedom of Expression in France and Around the World (The Nation)
• The biggest threat to French free speech isn't terrorism. It's the government (Washington Post)
• Former 'Onion' editor: Freedom of speech cannot be killed (MSNBC)

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