Newspapers in the classroom: sex, violence, sexual violence

(Update: They’ve darkened it up slightly, so the video is not quite as in-your-face as it was originally, until you move the cursor over it. Still, the half-naked woman as hostage is still plain as day when the page comes up, as well as the bloodied man, drinking.)

Teachers, if you were thinking of bringing up the New York Times website in your classroom today, I suggest you think twice. Here’s what your students will see.

The video begins playing automatically. The still shot shows a woman, scantily clad, of course, and held hostage by a gunman. The video shows gunmen, military attacks, people drinking and women’s body parts. This comes up without any action by the reader.

You can scroll over the video if you want the sound.

Another way to ensure that extreme violence and sexualized violence finds a comfortable place in mainstream media.

Very disappointing, New York Times.

If you don’t like it, let the New York Times know about it. Here’s their contact page

You can try the Public Editor. “Arthur Brisbane, our public editor, represents our readers. You can reach him by e-mail or by calling (212) 556‑7652.” Or try the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr.: publisher@nytimes.com or president and general manager Scott H. Heekin-Canedy: president@nytimes.com