Synopses & Reviews
The yearly volumes of Censored, in continuous publication since 1976 and since 1995 available through Seven Stories Press, is dedicated to the stories that ought to be top features on the nightly news, but that are missing because of media bias and self-censorship. The top stories are listed democratically in order of importance according to students, faculty, and a national panel of judges. Each of the top stories is presented at length, alongside updates from the investigative reporters who broke the stories.
Beyond the Top 25 stories, additional chapters delve further into timely media topics: The Censored News and Media Analysis section provides annual updates on Junk Food News and News Abuse, Censored Déjà Vu, signs of hope in the alternative and news media, and the state of media bias and alternative coverage around the world. In the Truth Emergency section, scholars and journalists take a critical look at the US/NATO military-industrial-media empire. And in the Project Censored International section, the meaning of media democracy worldwide is explored in close association with Project Censored affiliates in universities and at media organizations all over the world.
A perennial favorite of booksellers, teachers, and readers everywhere, Censored is one of the strongest life signs of our current collective desire to get the news we citizens need—despite what Big Media tells us.
Synopsis
The 1997 edition of Censored contains 25 articles judged by America's top journalists and citizen advocates as the most important -- and most underreported -- stories of the year. Although the 1997 list won't be finalized until January, examples of 1996 exposes include:
-- An article cowritten by Ralph Nader that exposed the Telecommunications Deregulation Bill as a politically bought piece of legislation that paved the way for huge concentrations of media power
-- A Mother Jones investigation of a radical plan to dismantle the FDA by a Washington think tank with direct access to Capitol Hill power brokers
-- A story in The Nation about the corporate buyout of huge segments of the Internet and the implications for free speech in cyberspace
In addition to the top censored stories of the year, the 1997 yearbook includes "Censored Deja Vu", censored stories from past years that finally made it into the mainstream press; "Junk Food News", a sampling of stories that passed for news; and a listing of alternative publications that cover the underexposed news of America.
"Offers devastating evidence of the dumbing-down of mainstream news in America. Required reading for broadcasters, journalists, and well-informed citizens". -- Los Angeles Times
About the Author
PROJECT CENSORED, founded in 1976 by Carl Jensen, has as its principal objective the advocacy for and protection of First Amendment rights and the freedom of information in the United States. In 2008, Project Censored received the PEN/Oakland Literary Censorship Award for the publication of Censored 2009. For more information, visit www.projectcensored.org.
PETER PHILLIPS, director emeritus of Project Censored and president of the Media Freedom Foundation, is an associate professor of sociology at Sonoma State University. He is known for his op-ed pieces in the alternative press and independent newspapers nationwide, such as Z Magazine and Social Policy. He is also the winner of the 2009 Dallas Smythe Award, presented by the Union for Democratic Communication.