[Dryerase] Media watch group celebrates release of ‘Censored 2003'

[Asheville Global Report]

Media watch group celebrates release of 'Censored 2003'

By Brendan Conley

Rohnert Park, California, Sept. 28 (AGR)--  Project Censored, the media 
analysis group based at Sonoma State University, has released Censored 
2003, the latest of its annual compilations of the year's most "censored" 
news stories. The organization monitors mainstream and independent media 
and watches for important stories that are underreported by the corporate 
press and covered by independent publications. At an awards ceremony here 
on Saturday, independent media organizations -- including Asheville Global 
Report -- were honored for bringing to light the top 25 stories.
Censored 2003, like the 25 yearbooks previously published by Project 
Censored, is something of a handbook for media literacy. Though the heart 
of the book is its summaries of the top 25 underreported stories, Censored 
2003 also features articles about the global movement for free and 
independent communication and against corporate control of the media. The 
book contains updates on previous most-censored stories, and a resource 
guide to independent publications and media activist groups.
In a rousing keynote address on Saturday, author Michael Parenti addressed 
the fact that some "censored" stories actually receive coverage in the 
mainstream media. That coverage, however, by the way it frames the issues, 
can serve to obfuscate rather than educate, he said. "It's not only what is 
or isn't covered, but it's also how it's covered," said Parenti. "So we 
need, along with Project Censored, we need Project Flim-Flam, Project 
Evade, Project Avoid-the-Most-Important-Thing-About-It."
This year's number one censored story is "FCC Moves to Privatize Airwaves," 
covered by The London Guardian, Mediafile, and Mother Jones. In accepting 
the award for MediaFile, author Dorothy Kidd warned that the Federal 
Communication Commission is attempting to sell off our property, the public 
airwaves, and with it, our ability to communicate effectively. "This top 
story is really what Project Censored is all about: protecting and 
extending our basic human right to communicate," said Kidd. "The right to 
communicate may not seem as immediate as the other rights that are featured 
in all of the other stories: to clean water, to peace and life without war, 
to healthy food and farming, and all of the other concerns that the authors 
have raised. But without the means to speak, and publish, and receive the 
widest diversity of information, we will not survive these other crises."
Project Censored's number two pick is "New Trade Treaty Seeks to Privatize 
Global Social Services," written by Maude Barlow in The Ecologist. Jerry 
Mander, President of the International Forum on Globalization, accepted the 
award for Barlow and said that her article is an "early warning" about 
negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services that are 
currently underway in the World Trade Organization. If the agreement goes 
through, Mander said, "All public services will be on the auction block for 
global corporations to control. We're liable to end up with Mitsubishi 
running our educational systems and DeutscheBank running our libraries and 
cultural programs, and Enron in charge of Social Security."
The third most underreported story cited is "United States' Policies in 
Colombia Support Mass Murder," covered by Counterpunch, Asheville Global 
Report, Steelabor, and Rachel's Environment and Health News. In accepting 
the award for Asheville Global Report, author Jim Lobe of Inter Press 
Service said that the fact that US military aid to Colombia supports human 
rights violations by the military and paramilitary groups, remains hidden 
from the public at large. Citizens of the US operate under "an absolute 
allergy to history," said Lobe. "We have a hard time facing the notion that 
we may not be entirely virtuous. That is something we all need to address 
as much as we possibly can, and hopefully at some point we'll find out even 
more about -- not only what went on 25 years ago, but also what is going on 
today."
Asheville Global Report was also honored for story number 13, "Henry 
Kissinger and Gerald Ford Lied to the American Public about East Timor," 
also by Jim Lobe of Inter Press Service, and story number 24, "Wal-Mart 
Takes Union Busting to the State Level," by John Nichols and reprinted from 
the Madison Capital Times.
For more information: www.projectcensored.org.