Censorship // Current

Cuban Blogger Yoani Sanchez detained and beaten

I was fascinated by her after the fantastic Vanguard report on Cuba. This is awful.... more

ClaudiaVanDamage
added this
1 day ago
|
0 comments

Journalism, the European protest

Stand up for Journalism: tomorrow we will celebrate, in Europe, the day for the press... more

bibabiba
added this
5 days ago
|
0 comments

Principal cuts pages from yearbook

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11429823

shroomfairy
added this
7 days ago
|
4 comments

Cuban Journalist Jose Alejandro is Silenced

[From Yoani Sanchez's blog Generation Y, from Cuba]

No one knows the mechanisms of censorship in Cuba better than those who write in the few newspapers of national circulation. The press here has been turned into a delicate profession required to measure adjectives, carefully weigh topics and often to hide personal opinions in order to keep a job. It is a life decision to be a journalist for the official media, I know, but I also know some who have been trapped in the twists and turns of complicity, waiting for the day when they can write what they think.

From the Juventude Rebelde newspaper office where Reinaldo Escobar (His blog: http://www.desdecuba.com/reinaldoescobar/) worked until 1988, there is very little left because most of his colleagues now live in Miami, Mexico and Spain. Others have retired from the profession, disillusioned with the aborted glastnost and the consecutive calls for criticism, which ended up being bait for the most daring. José Alejandro Rodríguez survived all this and carried his personal battle into the “Receipt Requested” section where he published readers’ letters with their complaints and questions. Every time I read his crusade against bureaucracy and poor work, I sense the regressive countdown that will probably culminate in his professional silencing.

A few days ago José Alejandro could take no more. He took everything he has accumulated about the “excessive centralization” that the press on this Island is subject to and condemned the secrecy surrounding government decisions. In his article “Against the demons of kidnapped information” he used the language of an honest man who always believed in the possibility of humanizing the current system through the transparency of information. I respectfully differ with him, because what has been built on a foundation of hiding, condemning and filtering cannot survive the clear light that emanates from an incisive and free journalism.

The three pages of his harangue lasted just a few hours on the on-line version of Juventud Rebelde. The article was kidnapped by the shrewd hawks of orthodoxy, who know well the danger of a Nation that begins to learn everything you have hidden.

A copy of the article “Against the demons of kidnapped information” can be read here (In Spanish only).
http://www.cubaencuentro.com/jorge-ferrer/blogs/el-tono-de-la-voz/juventud-rebelde-y-la-informacion-secuestrada

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC Latin America (Spanish) on the sudden disappearance of the article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/america_latina/2009/10/091020_cuba_articulo_ravsberg_jp.shtml[From Yoani Sanchez's blog Generation Y, from Cuba] No one knows the mechanisms of... more

UrbanGypsy
added this
13 days ago
|
5 comments

Obama's Aim to End Free Speech in America?

Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech shines the light on a dark mission of the... more

ladybugaz
added this
19 days ago
|
2 comments

Why is Current Burying Swine Flu and Vaccination Stories

Why does the staff at Current keep burying Swine Flu stories? First case in... more

S3th
added this
21 days ago
|
5 comments

Michigan Public Radio Censoring Announcement on Palestine event

Michigan Radio (WUOM 91.7), an affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR), is censoring a program announcement.

The local chapter of the nonprofit organization If Americans Knew, whose mission is to inform Americans on topics of importance that are under reported or misreported in the American media, is attempting to place the following paid announcement on the radio station:

“’If Americans knew dot org,’ a non-profit organization focused on media coverage of the Palestine-Israel conflict: Executive Director Alison Weir will visit southeast Michigan the week of Oct 12th. Details on the web at "If Americans Knew dot org".”

Michigan Radio has refused to air the announcement, violating its ethical obligation as a publicly funded station not to censor information. While the station eventually agreed to run amended spots (cost: $1,000), it still refuses to include the organization’s name, If Americans Knew.

Weir, who has traveled throughout Gaza and the West Bank as a freelance journalist and speaks widely throughout the United States, said that she will fight Michigan Radio’s censorship, saying: “It is exactly this type of activity – to prevent people from learning the facts on Israel-Palestine -- that is causing the perpetuation of this tragic conflict and that is behind the $7 million per day of American tax money that goes to Israel, a misuse of our money at any time, but especially when American schools, seniors, children, veterans, and businesses are desperate for help.”

Weir said that her organization will fight Michigan Radio’s censorship: “Americans should not allow censorship of our public airwaves. A free and vigorous press is essential to our democratic republic. To maintain a strong, healthy, free and prosperous nation it is critical that we hold onto our most basic Constitutional rights and principles. We will fight Michigan Radio’s highly unethical and extremely destructive attempt to prevent its listeners from learning about an organization and allowing listeners to decide for themselves what they think of the facts it presents.

Weir, whose organization is based in Oregon, is a 1969 Journalism graduate of the University of Michigan and was a Senior Editor at the Michigan Daily. She said it is especially troubling to find this censorship at a station based at the University of Michigan, since in her studies at Michigan her professors had emphasized the importance of a free press and ethical journalism.Michigan Radio (WUOM 91.7), an affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR), is censoring... more

Ihatethemall
added this
22 days ago
|
1 comment

UK: press censored to hide toxic waste scandal - 100,000 hospitalized

Over the last 24 hours, a lot of self-congratulating hyperbole has appeared on and off... more

myhead
added this
26 days ago
|
0 comments

Walmart to sell that f*cked up crazy Christian game

Crucify me if you want, but that title was too awesome to change. --- Most of... more

Nettle
added this
26 days ago
|
134 comments

The power of silence.

In Italy we are still able to tell what's happening around, because is not a crime,... more

bibabiba
added this
26 days ago
|
0 comments

These Images of War Are Censored

Do not look at the slideshow linked above. It has been censored by Current. You are... more

JonRaymond
added this
26 days ago
|
6 comments

Obscene material resolution becomes a slippery slope

An opinion on the obscene material resolution at the University of Maryland.

On one side, many believe that it is an issue dealing with the First Amendment. Basically, they say that it is an issue of students being censored. When students at College Park wanted to show a pornographic movie, they should have been allowed to. On the other side, the University System of Maryland (USM) provides the environment for students to interact. Since the USM is supported by tax dollars, the taxpayers of Maryland, theoretically, have a right to control what's going on at state campuses through their representatives.

But really, how can a law made in the state take away privileges granted by the United States Constitution? In all fairness and logic, it can't. It is a violation of basic principle rights. Besides the point of censorship, I'm concerned this could serve as a possible precedent for other things.

For example, if some bureaucrat sitting in a comfy chair controls what I can and cannot do on campus, it might be enough incentive for me to switch to a private school. I mean if I am paying for college out of my pocket, why shouldn't I be allowed to form a group of students and publicize something? Forget the idea that what I might want to show is pornographic.

I just see this leading to other more important things than porn. Why should someone control what I do if it is perfectly harmless? What is to stop the same elected delegates and senators from controlling what clubs are formed for on campus? I'm not saying that there should be an Obscene Material Club, but (by the same standards of saying that showing a pornographic movie) that club wouldn't be allowed. It just seems wrong that my experience of college is stifled due to the meager fact that I like different things than a senator.

I mean, it's dumb that my experience at college could be controlled to the point that I can't join a club because the general public does not agree with my idea (I can't stress enough that it is a harmless idea). What happened to the day when creative, but weird, ideas were accepted?

A more realistic scenario: there is an organization called the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). If I were to start a club that advocated the values of this clan, I would most likely be frowned upon as a member of society. True, some may argue that their ideas are harmful, although in cities, the KKK has demonstrations. These are perfectly legal and are not controlled by delegates and senators. Why then should that level of control be present on a college campus? If the KKK and pornography are thought of as similar (taboo) things by society's standards, then really they are harmless.

Now, think of a world where something that we all know is harmless (a newspaper) is then snatched away because it is considered offensive. Wait a second. That sounds like a dictatorship. All I see is one thing leading to another, and to another, until we all slide down the slippery slope of censorship.

People who get offended easily need to take a deep breath and relax. Just because I like oranges and you like apples doesn't mean that you can ban oranges from me. I might then decide that I like kiwis, and then cherries, and then who knows, I may have to like apples because you banned everything else.

If taxpayers, politicians, students, or whomever don't like obscene material, then please, respect me and my ideas. By that I mean, do what you got to do but just let me do what I want, even if you don't think it is moral or right. Hey, guess what, you can even frown.An opinion on the obscene material resolution at the University of Maryland. On one... more