 15 illustrators responded to the letter ; three declined to participate , one did not know how to contribute to what he called a vague project , one thought the project was stupid and badly paid , and one said he was afraid . 12 drawings had been submitted — three from newspaper employees and two which did not directly show Muhammad . The editors thought that some of the illustrators who had not responded were employed by other newspapers and were thus contractually prohibited from working for Jyllands @-@ Posten . In the end , editor @-@ in @-@ chief Carsten Juste decided that given its inconclusive results , the story was better suited as an opinion piece rather than a news story , and it was decided to publish it in the culture section , entirely under the direction of editor Flemming Rose . 
