Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Stories

Having followed the Project Censored yearly editions since the mid-90s, I have found that each volume has its own level of quality, even though the uncensored stories themselves are always of utmost importance. That is probably because of the changing staff of judges and college interns that Peter Phillips utilizes each year. A recent highpoint in the series is the 2003 edition, with powerful coverage of post-9/11 developments in journalism. On the other hand, 2001 saw an atrocious and poorly edited parade of whiny conspiracy theories and condescending tirades toward the public for not taking certain stories seriously. This new 2004 edition is somewhere in between, with some strong coverage fighting against poor editing and selection of material.

 

When Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003 seeking to justify invading Iraq, the UN’s tapestry of Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica — arguably the world’s most famous artistic treatment of the horrors of modern warfare, was covered with a drape. To date, no one has revealed who requested the move. But the blatant censorship of a powerful artistic depiction of the horrors of war sent a potent political message. Unlike most of the stories detailed in Censored, this one was accorded some small mention in the nation’s press.But it aptly conveys the message of Project Censored: that the stories overlooked, ignored and sometimes suppressed by the mainstream, corporate-controlled major media are as effectively blocked as if suppressed by government fiat. For three decades, faculty and students at Sonoma State University have labored to produce Project Censored — an annual compendium of important stories missed by most of the news media — and to honor the squeaky wheels who did cover them. This is one more among their valiant efforts and well worth a read. Our democracy depends on a free press and these folks continue to do essential spadework.

 

The collaborative effort of Peter Philips and "Project Censored", Censored 2004 collects the twenty-five most censored news stories of 2002 and 2003. A fierce wake-up call to issues commonly suppressed by the mainstream media, Censored 2004 is a "must-read" for journalism students, media critics, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the problems of media bias, news story censorship, social reforms, and the interactive relationships of media and government, as well as the issues of media ownership, journalistic integrity, and an effectively informed citizenry.