The media research group Project Censored at Sonoma State University announced today its list of the most under-covered "censored" news stories of 2001-2002. The censored news stories are published in the annual book Censored 2003 from Seven Stories Press.
The Sonoma State University research group is composed of nearly 200 faculty, students, and community experts who reviewed over 900 nominations for the 2003 awards. The top 25 stories were ranked by the Project's national judges including: Michael Parenti, Robert McChesney, Robin Andersen, Norman Solomon, Carl Jensen, Lenore Foerstel and some 20 other national journalists, scholars, and writers.
"We define censorship as any interference with the free flow of information in American Society," stated Peter Phillips Director of the Project, "Corporate media in the United States is interested primarily in entertainment news to feed their bottom-line priorities. Very important news stories that should reach the American public often fall on the cutting room floor to be replaced by sex-scandals and celebrity updates."
The annual Project Censored awards ceremony will be held at Sonoma State University on September 28 in Evert B. Person Theater at 7 p.m. ($20 regular $10 students and seniors).
Political Analyst/author Michael Parenti and cartoonist Dan Perkins, aka Tom Tomorrow, will be the keynote speakers for the event. Davey D of KPFA's Hardknock radio will be MC for the evening. Authors of the year's most censored stories will speak and receive their awards.
Press review copies of Censored 2003 are available by calling Seven Stories Press at 212-226-8760 or e-mail greg@sevenstories.com.
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THE 25 MOST CENSORED NEWS STORIES
(Complete details on the authors of these stories, where they were
published, and names of judges and student researchers can be found at www.sfbg.com/36/48/project_censored1.html)
# 1 - FCC Moves To Privatize Airwaves
Several years ago, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, in their report "TheTelecom Revolution: An American Opportunity," recommended a complete privatization of radio frequencies, whereby broadcasters with existing licenses would eventually gain complete ownership of their respective frequencies. They could thereafter develop them in markets of their choosing, or sell and trade them to other companies. The few non-allocated bands of the radio frequency spectrum would be sold off, as electronic real estate, to the highest bidders. With nothing then to regulate, the FCC would eventually be abolished.
# 2 - New Trade Treaty Seeks to Privatize Global Social Services
A global trade agreement now being negotiated will seek to privatize nearly every government-provided public service and allow transnational corporations to run them for profit. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a proposed free-trade agreement that will attempt to liberalize/dismantle barriers that protect government provided social services.
# 3 - United States' Policies in Colombia Support Mass Murder
Over the past two years, Colombia has been Washington's third largest recipient of foreign aid, behind only Israel and Egypt. In July of 2000, the U.S. Congress approved a $1.3 billion war package for Colombia to support President Pastrana's "Plan Colombia." Plan Colombia is a $7.5 billion counter-narcotics initiative. In addition to this financial support, the US also trains the Colombian military.
#4 - Bush Administration Hampered FBI Investigation into Bin Laden Family Before 9/11
A French book "Bin Laden, la verite interdite (Bin Laden, the forbidden truth)" claims that the Bush Administration halted investigations into terrorist activities related to the bin Laden family and began planning for a war against Afghanistan before 9-11.
# 5 - U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq's Water System
During the Gulf War the United States deliberately bombed Iraq's water system. After the war, the U.S. pushed sanctions to prevent importation of necessary supplies for water purification. These actions resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians many of whom were young children.
# 6 - U.S. Government Pushing Nuclear Revival
The US Government is blazing a trail of nuclear weapon revival leading to global nuclear dominance. A nuke-revival group proposes a "mini-nuke" capable of burrowing into underground weapon supplies and unleashing a small, but contained nuclear explosion. This weapons advocacy group is comprised of nuclear scientists, Department of Energy (DoE) officials, right wing analysts, former government officials, and a congressionally appointed over-sight panel. The group wants to ensure that the U.S. continues to develop nuclear capacity into the next half century.
# 7 - Corporations Promote HMO Model for School Districts
For decades, public schools have purchased innumerable products and services from private companies-from text books to bus transportation. Within the last decade, however, privatization has taken on a whole new meaning. Proponents of privatized education are now interested in taking over entire school districts.
# 8 - NAFTA Destroys Farming Communities in U.S. and Abroad
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are responsible for the impoverishment of and loss of many small farms in Mexico and Haiti. NAFTA is also causing the economic destruction of rural farming communities in the United States and Canada. The resulting loss of rural employment has created a landslide of socio-economic and environmental consequences that are worsening with the continued dismantling and deregulation of trade barriers.
#9 - U.S. Faces National Housing Crisis
The national housing crisis affects nearly 6 million American families and is growing worse. Over 1.5 million low-cost housing units have recently been lost, and millions of children are growing up in housing that is substandard, unaffordable and dangerous. A new crisis in affordable housing is spreading across America. What was once a problem relegated to low income families along the east and west coasts, is now affecting the middle-class all across the country.
#10 - CIA Double Deals In Macedonia
The CIA destabilized the political balance in Macedonia to allow easier access for a US-British owned oil pipeline, and to prevent Macedonia from entering the European Union (EU), thereby strengthening the US dollar in a German deutschmark dominated region.
#11 - Bush Appoints Former Criminals to Key Government Roles
Since becoming President, George Bush has brought back into government service several men who were discredited by criminal involvement in the Iran-Contra affair, lying to Con
