By Aly Colon
Writing, Reporting, Editing Group Leader
In my e-mail inbox this afternoon, I found this question from my colleague and Poynter Online editor Bill Mitchell:
I learned what he said not through the blogosphere but in the Poynter lunchroom, where colleagues were reading stories about the controversy in both The New York Times and tbt*, the free tabloid edition of the St. Petersburg Times. Although neither of those publications printed the word, we learned it from another colleague. She heard it on TV.
The word is faggot. Among the questions for journalists is whether and when to use such a word in print, online or on the air. The question seems a bit easier for Poynter, since our focus is to help journalists make such decisions. Including the word seems pretty central to any discussion about whether and when to use it. But what about journalists serving more general interest audiences?
Words matter. Journalists use them to inform, explain and clarify. But sometimes we avoid using offensive words. When we do that, we usually believe the slur simply extends the insult’s reach. We think repeating the word generates heat, not light. Yet, when we avoid such words, we also run the risk of leaving our audiences uninformed, unclear and confused.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” word controversy highlights an issue that crops up regularly.
In this case, it focuses on gay people. In the past, on Poynter Online, we have written about how journalists grapple with offensive terms that center on a number of different groups of people: African Americans, Native Americans, the disabled and the displaced. We’ve offered other views as well.
The decision about whether to use an offensive word depends on three elements: your journalistic purpose, your audience and the clarity (or lack of it) that comes from using the word (or not using it).
Clarifying your journalistic purpose precedes clarifying any story by using an offensive word. What journalistic standards do you abide by? Will using the offensive word reflect your standards, support your mission and advance the story?
Consider your audience. Will the word educate them? Do they need the offensive word to appreciate the context of the story? Does the word communicate the story more effectively or does it distract, disturb and derail?
Finally, clarity becomes a key factor. Is the word essential to understanding what the story means and why it matters? Will the word conjure up in the mind of the audience what the user meant when he or she used it? Does the word illuminate or incinerate?
Whether or not to use an offensive word has less to do with the word itself and more to do with reason for using, or not using, it.
