No, was the resounding response from readers who objected to a DVD that was distributed in The N&O last weekend. The video, titled "Obsession," portrays radical Islam as an organized global terrorism campaign aimed at Jews, Christians and America.

It depicts armies of jihadist warriors, suicide bombers in training and armed children chanting anti-Western slogans. Images of Islamist militants are juxtaposed with scenes of goose-stepping Nazi troopers. Graphic footage displays carnage from attacks in New York, London and Madrid.

"This is a film about a radical world view and the threat it poses to us all, Muslim and non-Muslim alike," a title says at the beginning of the video.

After the DVD was distributed Sept. 13, protests poured into News & Observer offices. We received at least 300 e-mail and phone messages, and about 50 people canceled subscriptions

"By taking responsibility for the delivery of this movie, an esteemed newspaper lent credence and stature to a movie which is, at best, hyperbolic, frightening propaganda. Surely, money cannot replace ethics," wrote reader MARY HARRISON.

"Gee, if I was still teaching, this video could be a classroom aid to show how some use hate and religious intolerance to scare people," wrote retired fourth-grade teacher MARY GILBERT of Raleigh. "However, I would not want to poison young minds by having them watch it."

The DVD was distributed by The N&O as an advertising product, inserted along with the advertising circulars into the paper. Jim McClure, vice president for display advertising, said he recognized that the DVD would be controversial and consulted with other executives before accepting it.

But he concluded that the paper should not deny advertisers the opportunity to reach the N&O audience because their message is unpopular or offensive to some. "The ultimate question is, at what point do you draw the line and start censoring things based on comfort level?" he said.

Many readers, citing The N&O's well-publicized revenue problems, accused the paper of selling out scruples for advertising dollars. McClure said the paper doesn't disclose what customers pay for ads, because they expect confidentiality for competitive reasons, but money was not a factor: "There was no consideration that this was so lucrative that we have to lower our standards and accept this. It was accepted on its merits."

The DVD was inserted into some 70 newspapers around the country, including The New York Times and sister McClatchy papers The Charlotte Observer and The Miami Herald. One of the few newspapers that did not accept it was The News & Record in Greensboro.

"Even though we would have loved to have had the revenue stream, we just felt that it was not material that we wanted to subject our readers to," said publisher Robin Saul. "I just felt it was divisive and a ploy to play on people's fears, and I didn't see it to be educational at all."

It should be pointed out that a minority of readers -- perhaps 15 percent of my callers and e-mailers -- were glad The N&O accepted the video. "Thank you for not siding with censorship," wrote Jeffrey Cox of Raleigh.

Let's point out also that some of the angry benders of my ear told me they had not actually viewed the DVD. I did sacrifice an hour to it, and I was alternately repulsed and bored. Although the film took pains to say that most Muslims are not violent, that disclaimer was buried in the avalanche of anti-Islamic images, slogans and interviews with experts of dubious credentials.

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