Arthur Silber echoes my previously unexpressed thoughts on newspaper self-censorship:

In case you can't figure it out, the ellipses are for the word FAGS. Fags. Good lord. This isn't the point I started this post to make, but it just occurred to me: if you're going to report an incident, REPORT IT. All this political correctness is way past the point of being ridiculous. If the person said FAG, use the word FAG. If he said NIGGER, use the word NIGGER. If we don't know what they said, how the hell are we supposed to evaluate it? And for God's sake, don't make us guess when we're reading the newspaper. Report what the person said! How hard is that?

Be the word either of the above, or any other four letter word in which the word used is important, newspapers do us no favors by editing it out. If someone was shot after yelling an ethnic slur, I want to know what the ethnic slur was. If he was "taunting him" with cuss words and the cuss words underscore the nature of the taunting, say the goddamn words. I know, I know, plugging the ears of the children, but come on. They know the words. They know how they're not supposed to use them and, in the case of articles like this, it's obvious that they are being used offensively. Of course, that might make them use it when they want to be offensive... but you know what? They're going to anyway.

In a similar note, Susanna reports that a newspaper has changed its policy so that when they reference the Washington Redskins, they will not actually say the word "Redskins" because it's derogatory against the tribes. Now, for what it's worth, I do think the Redskins should change their mascot. I don't believe that every Indian-related mascot everywhere should be (could someone please tell me how a Brave, which is a word synonymous with courage, can be offensive in respect to the tribes?), but Redskins is the most suspect and I don't believe that it's generally a good idea to have mascots that offend large numbers of people. I don't believe they should be forced to change it, but I believe if they can change the Washington Bullets to Washington Wizards, they can make the Washington Redskins the Washington Warriors and replace the Indian with a Spartan or something. Others may disagree, but that's how I feel.

That being said, this policy is moronic! Now, they are completely within their rights to have a moronic policy, but it's moronic. If Washington calls themselves the Chinks or the Wetbacks or the Micks, that's between the Asians, the Hispanics, and the Irish and the franchise. It is not the job of the newspaper to pick up the fight for them. Fighting Whities? I don't care, but if I did it's my job to organize a boycott (if they were more than an intramural team, that is) or get them to change their name. The Lincoln Journal-Star even phrases it as joining ranks with an advocacy group. That's objectivity? Is that even a goal anymore?

In any case, if a teach calls themselves the Honkeys or Rednecks, it is the newspaper's job to refer to the team as such. If a Public Enemy-eque band chooses to go by the name Kill All White People, then the music critics should refer to them as such, not KAWP or That Band With The Offensive Name. Report the objections to those names, sure, but do not join them in protest.

On a last note:

Finally, we've decided to drop the stereotypical modifier "Fighting" when used with team nicknames such as Fighting Sioux or Fighting Illini.

No word yet on the Fighting Irish...