Publish And Be Damned?

One of the biggest stories to break internationally during in February is the riots surrounding the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammed.

The cartoons, originally published in September in a Danish newspaper, have resulted in more than 100 deaths across the Middle East and Africa after a Danish imam took the original 12 plus invented another three on a tour of the Middle East.

The three fake 'cartoons' comprise of three faxed photographs one of which was a photograph taken by the Associated Press at a completely unrelated event.

While Australian, US, Canadian and US media have largely tried avoid confrontation by not publishing the cartoons, publication is already widespread across the Islamic world.

As the issue of free speech and freedom of the press becomes a hotly debated topic, for business owners it is an opportune time to address the issue of media and public affairs management.