Issue Area: Censorship
Since governments almost always have an interest in controlling the free flow of information, official censorship is something that must be constantly guarded against. In our society, however, large corporations are a more common source of censorship than governments: Media outlets killing stories because they undermine corporate interests; advertisers using their financial clout to squelch negative reports; powerful businesses using the threat of expensive lawsuits to discourage legitimate investigations. The most frequent form of censorship is self-censorship: Journalists deciding not to pursue certain stories that they know will be unpopular with the boss.Next in What's Wrong With the News: Sensationalism
Network News Blackout on Pentagon Pundits (Update June 2008) By
Reprivatizing Elvis: E.U. may take a half-century of music out of the public domain (May/June 2008) By
From Self-Censorship to Official Censorship: Ban on images of wounded GIs raises no media objections (March/April 2007) By
Reprivatizing Elvis: E.U. may take a half-century of music out of the public domain (May/June 2008) By
From Self-Censorship to Official Censorship: Ban on images of wounded GIs raises no media objections (March/April 2007) By
Less...
The Myth of the Muzzled Media (November/December 2006) By
Subverting, Not Preserving, Democracy: Marginalizing vote fraud 'conspiracy theories' (July/August 2006) By
Sidebar: The ‘Cheat Sheets’ (July/August 2006) By
Reversing Course: FEMA Allows Katrina Victims To Speak to News Media (Update August 2006) By
O Say, Can You See?: Editor's Note (July/August 2006) By
Fair Use It or Lose It: Copyright owners’ threats erode free expression (May/June 2006) By
MSNBC and the Illegal T-shirt (Update April 2006) By and
Fear & Favor 2005 -- The Sixth Annual Report: Outside (and inside) influence on the news (March/April 2006) By and and
A Record of Journalism in Crisis: Out of the Buzzsaw, into the Fire (March/April 2006) By
Now It’s a Chemical Weapon, Now It’s Not: White phosphorus and the siege of Fallujah (March/April 2006) By
SPJ Undercut First Amendment With Miller Award (Update December 2005) By and
Sidebar: Superstore Censorship (November/December 2005) By
Sidebar: Venezuela’s Press Laws Have Potential for Abuse (11/1/05) By
Newsweek and the Real Rules of Journalism: Mistakes should be retracted—if the powerful are offended (July/August 2005) By
Where Have All the Bodies Gone?: As toll mounts, U.S. casualties are nearly invisible (July/August 2005) By
The Military-Industrial-Media Complex: Why war is covered from the warriors’ perspective (July/August 2005) By
When “Old News” Has Never Been Told: U.S. media produce excuses, not stories, on Downing Street Memo (July/August 2005) By and
Still Hiding the Bush Bulge: Spiking of story an “internal matter,” Pasadena paper says (July/August 2005) By
Fear & Favor 2004 -- The Fifth Annual Report: How power shapes the news (March/April 2005) By and
The Return of Deep Throat: Now he's a mainstream journalist, leaking stories to the alternative press (March/April 2005) By
America's Debt to Gary Webb: Punished for reporting the truth while those who covered it up thrived (March/April 2005) By
Taking a Dive on Contra Crack: How the Mercury News caved in to the media establishment (March/April 2005) By
The Emperor's New Hump: The New York Times killed a story that could have changed the election—because it could have changed the election (January/February 2005) By
Fear & Favor 2003 -- The Fourth Annual Report: More examples of media's vulnerability to power (May/June 2004) By and
Fear & Favor 2002 -- The Third Annual Report: How power shapes the news (March/April 2003) By and and
Fear & Favor 2001 -- The Second Annual Report: How Power Shapes the News (March/April 2002) By and
Patriotism & Censorship: Some journalists are silenced, while others seem happy to silence themselves (November/December 2001) By and
Fear & Favor 2000 -- The First Annual Report: How Power Shapes the News (May/June 2001) By and
Pepper Spray Gets in Their Eyes: Media missed militarization of police work in Seattle (March/April 2000) By
"We Paid $3 Billion For These Stations. We'll Decide What the News Is." (Update June 1998) By
"Are You Sure You Want to Ruin Your Career?": Gary Webb's fate a warning to gutsy reporters (March/April 1998) By
Teaching Censorship: High School Journalism in the Post-Hazelwood Era (March/April 1994) By
Inside Bohemian Grove: The Story People Magazine Won't Let You Read (November/December 1991)
(Self-)Censored Stories: Eight Stories National Media Ignored (Special Gulf War Issue 1991)
Gulf War Coverage: The Worst Censorship Was at Home (Special Gulf War Issue 1991) By
Spin Control Through Censorship: The Pentagon Manages the News (Special Gulf War Issue 1991)
Media on the March: Journalism in the Gulf (November/December 1990) By
Censored News: Oliver North & Co. Banned from Costa Rica (October/November 1989)
Media Censor CIA Ties With Medellin Drug Cartel (March/April 1988)
The Myth of the Muzzled Media (November/December 2006) By
Subverting, Not Preserving, Democracy: Marginalizing vote fraud 'conspiracy theories' (July/August 2006) By
Sidebar: The ‘Cheat Sheets’ (July/August 2006) By
Reversing Course: FEMA Allows Katrina Victims To Speak to News Media (Update August 2006) By
O Say, Can You See?: Editor's Note (July/August 2006) By
Fair Use It or Lose It: Copyright owners’ threats erode free expression (May/June 2006) By
MSNBC and the Illegal T-shirt (Update April 2006) By and
Fear & Favor 2005 -- The Sixth Annual Report: Outside (and inside) influence on the news (March/April 2006) By and and
A Record of Journalism in Crisis: Out of the Buzzsaw, into the Fire (March/April 2006) By
Now It’s a Chemical Weapon, Now It’s Not: White phosphorus and the siege of Fallujah (March/April 2006) By
SPJ Undercut First Amendment With Miller Award (Update December 2005) By and
Sidebar: Superstore Censorship (November/December 2005) By
Sidebar: Venezuela’s Press Laws Have Potential for Abuse (11/1/05) By
Newsweek and the Real Rules of Journalism: Mistakes should be retracted—if the powerful are offended (July/August 2005) By
Where Have All the Bodies Gone?: As toll mounts, U.S. casualties are nearly invisible (July/August 2005) By
The Military-Industrial-Media Complex: Why war is covered from the warriors’ perspective (July/August 2005) By
When “Old News” Has Never Been Told: U.S. media produce excuses, not stories, on Downing Street Memo (July/August 2005) By and
Still Hiding the Bush Bulge: Spiking of story an “internal matter,” Pasadena paper says (July/August 2005) By
Fear & Favor 2004 -- The Fifth Annual Report: How power shapes the news (March/April 2005) By and
The Return of Deep Throat: Now he's a mainstream journalist, leaking stories to the alternative press (March/April 2005) By
America's Debt to Gary Webb: Punished for reporting the truth while those who covered it up thrived (March/April 2005) By
Taking a Dive on Contra Crack: How the Mercury News caved in to the media establishment (March/April 2005) By
The Emperor's New Hump: The New York Times killed a story that could have changed the election—because it could have changed the election (January/February 2005) By
Fear & Favor 2003 -- The Fourth Annual Report: More examples of media's vulnerability to power (May/June 2004) By and
Fear & Favor 2002 -- The Third Annual Report: How power shapes the news (March/April 2003) By and and
Fear & Favor 2001 -- The Second Annual Report: How Power Shapes the News (March/April 2002) By and
Patriotism & Censorship: Some journalists are silenced, while others seem happy to silence themselves (November/December 2001) By and
Fear & Favor 2000 -- The First Annual Report: How Power Shapes the News (May/June 2001) By and
Pepper Spray Gets in Their Eyes: Media missed militarization of police work in Seattle (March/April 2000) By
"We Paid $3 Billion For These Stations. We'll Decide What the News Is." (Update June 1998) By
"Are You Sure You Want to Ruin Your Career?": Gary Webb's fate a warning to gutsy reporters (March/April 1998) By
Teaching Censorship: High School Journalism in the Post-Hazelwood Era (March/April 1994) By
Inside Bohemian Grove: The Story People Magazine Won't Let You Read (November/December 1991)
(Self-)Censored Stories: Eight Stories National Media Ignored (Special Gulf War Issue 1991)
Gulf War Coverage: The Worst Censorship Was at Home (Special Gulf War Issue 1991) By
Spin Control Through Censorship: The Pentagon Manages the News (Special Gulf War Issue 1991)
Media on the March: Journalism in the Gulf (November/December 1990) By
Censored News: Oliver North & Co. Banned from Costa Rica (October/November 1989)
Media Censor CIA Ties With Medellin Drug Cartel (March/April 1988)
Elizabeth de la Vega on impeachment, Catherine Lutz on Iraq bases (6/13/08)
Michael Dorsey on cap and trade, Ken Picard on Al-Jazeera in Burlington (6/6/08)
Raed Jarrar on Iraq, Julie Hollar on Somalia (4/4/08)
Michael Dorsey on cap and trade, Ken Picard on Al-Jazeera in Burlington (6/6/08)
Raed Jarrar on Iraq, Julie Hollar on Somalia (4/4/08)
Less...
David Enders on Iraq, Harut Sassounian on LAT and Armenian genocide (5/4/07)
Mahmood Mamdani on Darfur, Karen Greenberg on Guantánamo (3/16/07)
Alexander Cockburn on NY Times & Iraq, Matt Zimmerman on Spocko & Disney (1/12/07)
Robert Parry on Robert Gates, Barbara Kopple on "Shut Up and Sing" (11/24/06)
Daniel Davies on the Lancet study, Peggy Charren on the FCC and indecency (10/20/06)
Barbara Olshansky on Guantanamo Bay, Trudy Lieberman on Medicare (6/16/06)
Emily Whitfield on Abu Ghraib, Kenneth DeGraff on a la carte cable (2/17/06)
Jonathan Tasini on AFL-CIO and Greg Mitchell on Hiroshima (8/5/05)
David Swanson on Downing Street Memo, Betsy Leondar-Wright on Class Reporting (6/10/05)
Bob McChesney on FCC and Indecency, Daniel Ellsberg on Whistleblowers (4/1/05)
Ian Williams on UN oil-for-food "scandal," Chris Paterson on Eason Jordan (2/18/05)
David Enders on Iraq, Harut Sassounian on LAT and Armenian genocide (5/4/07)
Mahmood Mamdani on Darfur, Karen Greenberg on Guantánamo (3/16/07)
Alexander Cockburn on NY Times & Iraq, Matt Zimmerman on Spocko & Disney (1/12/07)
Robert Parry on Robert Gates, Barbara Kopple on "Shut Up and Sing" (11/24/06)
Daniel Davies on the Lancet study, Peggy Charren on the FCC and indecency (10/20/06)
Barbara Olshansky on Guantanamo Bay, Trudy Lieberman on Medicare (6/16/06)
Emily Whitfield on Abu Ghraib, Kenneth DeGraff on a la carte cable (2/17/06)
Jonathan Tasini on AFL-CIO and Greg Mitchell on Hiroshima (8/5/05)
David Swanson on Downing Street Memo, Betsy Leondar-Wright on Class Reporting (6/10/05)
Bob McChesney on FCC and Indecency, Daniel Ellsberg on Whistleblowers (4/1/05)
Ian Williams on UN oil-for-food "scandal," Chris Paterson on Eason Jordan (2/18/05)
Illegal, Yes--But Not Newsworthy: Wiretapping testimony hardly covered (5/22/07)
CBS, NBC Clean Up Bush's 'Happy' Talk (8/24/06)
FEMA Reverses Media Access Policy: Will allow press access to Katrina survivors in trailer parks (7/28/06)
CBS, NBC Clean Up Bush's 'Happy' Talk (8/24/06)
FEMA Reverses Media Access Policy: Will allow press access to Katrina survivors in trailer parks (7/28/06)
Less...
FEMA a Disaster for Freedom of the Press: Katrina victims 'not allowed' to talk to media, reporter told (7/21/06)
Brian Ross "Completely Aware" of WMD Context: So why weren't ABC viewers allowed to know? (3/3/06)
Missing From ABC's WMD "Scoop": Star defector Hussein Kamel said weapons were destroyed (2/17/06)
A New Blacklist for "Excuse Makers": Those who think Iraq War sparks terror are "despicable," says Friedman (7/27/05)
Paul Harvey's Tribute to Slavery, Nukes, Genocide: Hateful rant shows Disney's double standard on speech (7/1/05)
Justifying the Silence on Downing Street Memos (6/17/05)
ABC's Assist to Campus Conservatives: Were censorship stories too good to check? (2/3/05)
PBS Censors Postcards From Buster: Episode featuring lesbian moms deemed not 'appropriate' (1/31/05)
Viacom Blocking Independent Political Ads (10/18/04)
Eisner's Fantasyland Excuse for Censorship (5/7/04)
Michael Moore Film Faces Disney Censorship (5/5/04)
CNN to Al Jazeera: Why Report Civilian Deaths? (4/15/04)
NewsHour Responds to Activists (3/23/04)
Some Critical Media Voices Face Censorship (4/3/03)
The FCC, Radio & Censorship: Defining Decency (6/25/01)
"Democracy Now!" in Danger (10/19/00)
Top Papers Agree to Exclude Critics in Exchange for "Scoop" (6/2/00)
Giuliani's Pro-Censorship Views Need Balance on Sunday Shows (10/8/99)
FEMA a Disaster for Freedom of the Press: Katrina victims 'not allowed' to talk to media, reporter told (7/21/06)
Brian Ross "Completely Aware" of WMD Context: So why weren't ABC viewers allowed to know? (3/3/06)
Missing From ABC's WMD "Scoop": Star defector Hussein Kamel said weapons were destroyed (2/17/06)
A New Blacklist for "Excuse Makers": Those who think Iraq War sparks terror are "despicable," says Friedman (7/27/05)
Paul Harvey's Tribute to Slavery, Nukes, Genocide: Hateful rant shows Disney's double standard on speech (7/1/05)
Justifying the Silence on Downing Street Memos (6/17/05)
ABC's Assist to Campus Conservatives: Were censorship stories too good to check? (2/3/05)
PBS Censors Postcards From Buster: Episode featuring lesbian moms deemed not 'appropriate' (1/31/05)
Viacom Blocking Independent Political Ads (10/18/04)
Eisner's Fantasyland Excuse for Censorship (5/7/04)
Michael Moore Film Faces Disney Censorship (5/5/04)
CNN to Al Jazeera: Why Report Civilian Deaths? (4/15/04)
NewsHour Responds to Activists (3/23/04)
Some Critical Media Voices Face Censorship (4/3/03)
The FCC, Radio & Censorship: Defining Decency (6/25/01)
"Democracy Now!" in Danger (10/19/00)
Top Papers Agree to Exclude Critics in Exchange for "Scoop" (6/2/00)
Giuliani's Pro-Censorship Views Need Balance on Sunday Shows (10/8/99)
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