Politics

The Sunday Tele Is Getting Huge Backlash For Using A Racial Slur In Their Newspaper

Here's how you can make a complaint, if you're sick of the media's shit

by Rachael Conaghan  15 June 2020
sunday telegraph

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As if we didn’t already know the Australian media has a problem with race, one newspaper has to go and shove it in our faces again by publishing what is essentially a coloniser propaganda piece blaming black people for being the “real danger” to themselves.

You would think that would be the most offensive part, but no.

CW: Article contains images and discussion of racial slurs.

One paragraph — and one word in particular — has outraged people, who probably weren’t expected to be exposed to racial slurs during their morning cuppa.

The article, written by Peter Gleeson and published in the Sunday Telegraph, has been slammed for using the highly offensive word, which has been considered unacceptable since at least the 1980s.

Before the 60s the term was used widely, before the American Black Power movement took a stand and argued that the word implied black inferiority.

Since then it’s been pretty widely understood to be highly disrespectful.

The column in question was also published in the Courier Mail, where they changed the language in that paragraph — indicating that at least someone, somewhere, recognised that is definitely should not have made it to print.

“The reality in this country — and the United States — is that the greatest danger to Aborigines and African-Americans is themselves,” the alternate version reads.

The article comes after weeks of protests demanding recognition for the way Indigenous Australians, and black communities around the world, have been treated (and are still treated).

It also comes as people are waking up to the fact that a large part of the problem is how incredibly white the Australian media landscape is.

But people are no longer happy to accept that, and are now calling for complaints to be made to the Press Council.

Under the Press Council’s Standard’s Of Practice, publications must “avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest”.

Their guidelines for reporting on race also condemn the “gratuitous use of offensive slang terms for minority groups”.

People wishing to make a complaint to the Press Council can find more information here.