‘Bulo Remembers 2009-The Most Censored News Stories of the Year
Every year, Project Censored highlights “The News That Didn’t Make the News”, and reports what should’ve been in every paper and on every media outlet in America.
This year’s list should be mandatory reading for DL contributors and readers alike. You can click on links for each of the 25 stories, and find out what the corporate-driven media doesn’t want you to know.
The reason they don’t want you to know it? In most cases, the stories uncover corporate infiltration, takeovers, and/or cover-ups of national or global events.
This, IMHO, is the most important problem facing our nation and the world. Since Ronald Reagan, there has been something close to a corporate takeover of government that has continued unfettered for almost 30 years. Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Dubya all curried favor with the corporate community. Forget about Monica Lewinsky, Clinton’s cardinal sin was trying to out Rethug the Rethugs when it came to harvesting corporate cash, and he largely succeeded. After all, it was no coincidence that he named Fast Eddie Rendell (D-Comcast) to head the Democratic Party. And, wasn’t that the same Ed Rendell who, about six minutes after the polls had closed, suggested that Gore should concede?
And, with Eye of Newt unfettering the huge corporations to buy up all the major media, it is no accident that these stories aren’t even covered by what passes for the major media.
Project Censored performs an essential service. But it’s only successful if people actually read these stories and act accordingly.
Here are just some of the stories with which I was not fully-familiar:
Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
Obama’s Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past
Ecuador Declares Predatory Debt Illegitimate
Private Corporations Profit from Occupation of Palestine
This is brilliantly-researched material, and even provides some ideas as to what activists can do to influence policy in these matters.
Walter Cronkite once said that Project Censored, “…is one of the organizations that we should listen to, to be assured that our newspapers and our broadcast outlets are practicing thorough and ethical journalism.”
Were he still alive, I suspect his praise would have an even greater sense of urgency.
Tags: Best of 2009, Corporate America, Project Censored, Walter Cronkite
As soon as I saw the article on the Trilateral Commission, I stopped taking this seriously.
The middle two links are the same story. And like xstryker, I’m not too inclined to give much credence to the Trilateral Commission stuff.
Link corrected.
Now let me get this straight. B/c one of the 25 stories was about the Trilateral Commission, none of the other 24 are worth reading?
Well, I think the “corporate takeover” of government is a little miss-dated, here.
A charming example, of course, is the impact of William Randolph Hearst on public policy, but it’s hardly the only.
No, it’s not misdated. I referred to the legislation that Gingrich pushed through enabling, for example, Rupert Murdoch, to own both newspapers and television stations. It has led to mergers and acquisitions that have severely shrunk the scope and diversity of the media.
I disagree. People in large cities used to have a choice of newspapers, sometime. But, despite monopolistic practices in broadcast media, people today have a much wider choice of sources than our grandparents could hope to. With a cell phone camera you’re a broadcast journalist.
But if you look at media outlets even as recently as the 30’s, or what passed for “free speech” during the 40’s, it’s clear that, despite deregulation, the potential information stream continues to grow.
Still all lies, of course. But Twain remarked on that.
Ben Bagdikian, the first ombudsman for the Washington Post, points out how, since 1983, the companies that own all of the US’ dominant mass media have shrunk from 50 to 5.
Here’s an excerpt from his book, ‘The New Media Monopoly’: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Bagdikian/Big_Five_TNMM.html
The predominant media is controlled by a very select powerful few. Yes, there are lots of new resources, but they are outside of, and far less powerful than, mass media outlets.
It’s due in large part to the Gingrich legislation and an FCC that supported monopolistic practices.