Do we print it if President Bush says it?

Published online on Monday, Nov. 13, 2006

My 81-year-old parents were visiting from Virginia and my father and I were reading the paper at the breakfast table. My mother, who has macular degeneration and has trouble reading, asked what was in the news.

"It's really hot outside," I offered.

"That's not news," she said.

My father stepped in: "Bush said a four-letter word into an open mike."

What was the word? my mother wondered. Did it start with f? "Everyone says that one now."

"We're not going to talk about it," my father said.

"So they can put it in the paper, but we can't say it?" she asked.

Hmmm. I hadn't anticipated this conversation when I approved the use of the word the night before. Bush had uttered the expletive, apparently not realizing a mike was on, during a lunch with other world leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia. Speaking of the most recent crisis in the Middle East, he said, "What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over," he said.

There. I said it again.

One of my roles as editor is language cop. Every so often, a reporter or editor asks me if it's OK to print a quote that contains questionable language. Sometimes the answer is no, the quote isn't worth it. Sometimes the answer is to write the first letter, followed by dashes, which feels comforting to a middle-aged editor, but isn't really fooling anybody.

This time is different, though. Over the years, when asked about certain words, I've said we'd use them if the president of the United States said them on national TV. It was kind of like saying, "When pigs fly."

Well, times have changed, and pigs flew Monday. I approved the word, and, except for my parents, nobody had anything to say about it Tuesday morning, not even my boss. I think we got one call about it all day, and a letter later in the week.

It makes me wonder: Are newspaper editors hopelessly quaint to even worry about such things? Do readers really care?

Words are uttered on TV that I would have had my mouth washed out with soap for saying. It's no news flash that what's considered acceptable language has changed.

I remember reading an article about how to attract younger readers to newspapers. In a focus group, young adults said they'd prefer some profanity in the newspaper, because that's how people really talk.

And maybe recent news stories have brought us so many examples of things that are truly obscene -- Americans beheaded in Iraq, football players allegedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl in a Fresno apartment -- that a little profanity seems insignificant. Frankly, it does to me.

I believe that when the president says something that's broadcast around the world, we should print it. We do have an obligation to mirror reality.

Still, I think that in general, the newspaper should be held to a higher standard than common discourse. After all, we are asking readers to allow us into their homes, and we have a shelf-life -- the paper might lie around all day -- while a word spoken on television is gone in a flash.

What do you think? If you'd like to weigh in on this subject, please e-mail me at the address below or write me at 1626 E St., Fresno, CA, 93786. I might use your responses in a future column.

I'd especially like to hear what you think about the use of profanity in stories about more ordinary matters. What if the quote comes from a high school football coach, a local politician or a witness in a court case, for example? Does it make a difference?

In other news ...

I invited readers last month to become "guest editors," joining me and other Bee editors at our 2:30 p.m. news meetings to discuss the next day's front page. The response has been gratifying and we've had guests almost every day since then.

If you would like to join us, please call Kay Soares at (559) 441-6409, or e-mail her at ksoares@fresnobee.com. The only price of admission is your feedback.

Betsy Lumbye is executive editor and senior vice president of The Fresno Bee. She can be reached at blumbye@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6207.