Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion
This topic is about
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
THE PRICE OF A FREE MEDIA
>
Censoring the truth
date
newest »
newest »
How Media Censorship Affects the News You See https://www.thebalance.com/how-media-...5 Ways Media Censorship Blocks Information from Reaching You
Underground Knowledge — A discussion group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy (other topics)Media Censorship (other topics)
“There is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.” –President John F. Kennedy, speech to the American Newspaper Publishers Association. April 27, 1961, New York City.
Censorship involves limiting free expression and controlling information. Most Westerners tend to associate the word censorship with art – especially film. However, in less democratic regions of the world, censorship is all pervasive with North Korea being one of the best, or worst, examples of this in recent years.
Censorship is also alive and well in the West, although it is done in far more subtle ways. Sometimes it relates to that modern day ailment known as corportocracy, or the control of economic and political systems by corporate interests; sometimes it relates to government meddling where administrations or individual politicians derail what should be a free press.
Reporters Without Borders, a global freedom of press organization, recently announced in its annual Worldwide Freedom Index that the US has one of the highest levels of media censorship in the Western world. From their research, conducted in 2013, they reported that journalists in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand experience greater freedoms of speech than in the US.
The index reflects the level of freedom that news organizations, reporters and citizens enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by governing bodies to respect this freedom.
Given the US was founded on the greatest constitutional freedom of expression in history (the First Amendment) it’s sad to see it only managed 32nd place on the Worldwide Freedom Index – behind the likes of Ghana and Suriname.
“Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed–and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment – the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution – not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” – but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.” –President John F. Kennedy, speech to the American Newspaper Publishers Association. April 27, 1961, New York City.