• Keith Srakocic/AP
  • Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto wanted “jagoff” to be included in the dictionary.

Journalists are obliged to report what people do. What people say is another matter. If I shoot you, my act of aggression will be described as it occurred. If I insult you I’ll be paraphrased. The American press thoroughly covered the Charlie Hebdo massacre—except it refused to publish examples of the cartoons the Islamist killers claimed to be avenging. “At what point does news value override our standards?” asked Dean Baquet, editor of the New York Times, which decided the cartoons were unprintable and as a reward was accused of “absolute cowardice.”

Today/Friday on the 4 PM news it’s a “pissed off” owner of the Bears, Mrs. McCaskey.

When will there be segments on “Chicago cocksuckers,” “pussyeaters,” or “buttlickers”? Or newsreading about “fucking crazy” CEOs and “batshit” aldermen?

Why is the language that I just used here—and which I would never use myself except for such illustration, and certainly would never use on the radio—any worse than what you all are using? Is there any line on language not to cross? I am speaking here of news and information program, not selective use by artists or musicians nor the use of language specifically to raise free speech questions.

Jagoff is another matter.

Furthermore, she went on, “pissed off” was a direct quote. “In neither of these situations were we taking artistic license to spice up our coverage but rather reporting on credible news and information. We take our role in the community very seriously and in both of these situations, I believe the use of the specific language was not only appropriate but necessary.”

“When American media shy from the actual truth of language, they also shy from the actual truth of reality,” he weighed in. “For instance, remember back in 2004 when Dick Cheney told Senator Leahy of Vermont, on the floor of the Senate, to ‘Go fuck yourself’? All the American news media danced around what the Vice President of the United States actually said. They could not use that evil word! They could not quote what he actually said! Someone might cancel their subscription out of disgust at . . . the truth.

He asked me if I’d heard about the time Dorothy Parker was introduced to Norman Mailer.