rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (06/13/91)
/** christic.news: 97.0 **/ ** Topic: MEDIA SECTION: PROJECT CENSORED ** ** Written 6:08 pm Jun 7, 1991 by christic in cdp:christic.news ** ----------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT TRACKS `MOST CENSORED STORIES' Convergence Magazine, Christic Institute, Summer 1991 There is no official mechanism of state censorship in the United States, but ``every year, there are dozens of important stories that the mass media ignore,'' says journalist Bill Moyers. ``They expose shady conduct by high officials, by the military, by the C.I.A., by the press itself. They uncover hidden dangers and warn of crisis to come. Knowing about these stories could change our lives or maybe even save them.'' These are the ``censored'' stories listed every year by ``Project Censored,'' a media watchdog organization founded in 1976 by Prof. Carl Jensen at Sonoma State University in California. The project's ``Top Ten Censored Stories'' of 1990 were featured by Moyers in a documentary broadcast Feb. 25 on the Public Broadcasting Service. Readers of Convergence will be familiar with some of these stories. Six entries in the ``Top Ten'' lists published by Project Censored since 1987 either originated with Christic Institute investigations or were reported by the Institute and other public-interest groups. Overt censorship is ``rare in America,'' Moyers says, ``but a subtle form of censorship takes over when significant stories are buried or ignored by the mainstream press. ``There are many reasons for this neglect. Editors think some issues are just too dull to sustain public interest or will offend the high and mighty or require too much money, time and space to explain.'' The stories for 1990 selected by the project's panel of media experts were: 1. Flawed coverage of the Gulf Crisis. Traditional press skepticism was the first casualty in the days immediately following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The media, concerned about appearing to be unpatriotic, fell into the unseemly role of Pentagon cheerleaders for the Administration. Even the Defense Department spokesman, Pete Williams, admitted that ``the reporting has been largely a recitation of what administration people have said.'' 2. S&L solution is worse than the crime. The $500 billion estimated to be needed to bail out the savings and loan industry, is more than the entire cost of World War II. The Resolution Trust Corporation, the Federal agency entrusted with solving the problem, is now accused of producing a massive giveaway that will make Teapot Dome look like a demitasse cup. 3. The C.I.A. role in the S&L crisis. The question of what happened to the billions of S&L funds is partially answered by an investigative journalist who found links between S&L's, organized crime figures and C.I.A. operatives, including some involved in gun running, drug smuggling, money laundering and covert aid to Nicaraguan contras. 4. NASA shuttle destroys the ozone shield. Dr. Helen Caldicott, world renowned physician and environmentalist, warns that every time the space shuttle is launched, 250 tons of hydrochloric acid is released into the air, contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. 5. Media blackout of drug war fraud. A top-ranked undercover agent, recently retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration, reports that the Bush Administration's widely-touted ``drug war'' is really a ``psychological war, aimed at convincing America through the press that our government is seriously trying to deal with the drug problem when they're not.'' 6. What really happened in Panama? New reports from non-mainstream but authoritative sources reveal that the legal foundations for the Panama invasion, the Bush-Noriega relationship, the actual American and Panamanian casualty figures and the post-invasion conditions in Panama have been misrepresented to the American people. 7. The Pentagon's secret billion-dollar black budget. An investigation by a Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigative journalist exposed the Pentagon's secret ``Black Budget,'' which was once used to fund America's 11 intelligence agencies, but is now being used by the administration and the military to conceal the costs of many of their most expensive and controversial military weapons. 8. The Bill of Rights had a close call. The mass media failed to tell the public about the potential repressive impact of the Gramm- Gingrich anticrime bill introduced in 1990 in the Senate and House of Representatives. The bill called for ``A Declaration of National Drug and Crime Emergency,'' which critics say would have essentially nullified the Bill of Rights had it passed through Congress. 9. Where was George? Despite repeated assertions by President George Bush that he was ``out of the loop,'' new material from Oliver North's diaries, obtained through a Freedom of Information lawsuit, provided additional information that President Bush played a major role in the Iran-contra scandal from the beginning. 10. America's banking crisis. Top economists report that the same economic conditions that led to the demise of the savings and loan industry are now eating away at our commercial banks and that the same kinds of accounting gimmicks that hid the S&L crisis are being used to cover up the commercial banking crisis. Suspicions that contra supporters and drug traffickers used savings and loan institutions to launder money were investigated by the Christic Institute in 1989 and reported in the Fall 1990 issue of Convergence. Two other stories that were ranked by Project Censored in the 1990 list of 15 additional ``censored'' stories were pioneered by the Institute: The Costa Rican murder indictment against contra backer John Hull (see page 1 of this issue) and passage of a bill that gave President Bush broader powers to conduct covert operations. Christic Institute stories included in the top ten list in recent years were: *The decision by the Costa Rican Government to ban Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and other former United States officials for their role in illegal weapons trafficking through Costa Rica. *NASA's launch of a potentially deadly plutonium payload on space shuttle missions. *The use of contra bases in Central America to smuggle narcotics into the United States. *The refusal by Congress to investigate hard evidence of George Bush's direct role in the Iran-contra scandal. Prof. Jensen describes describes Project Censored as an ``early warning system'' for the nation. ``The number of military and financial and economic issues that were under-reported in 1990 surely provided an ominous warning of what the United States could expect in 1991,'' he says. Anyone can nominate a ``censored'' story for the 1991 list. A copy of the story, including source and date, should be mailed to Carl Jensen, Project Censored, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California 94928. The deadline for nominations is Nov. 1, 1991. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Lang 151251507 CHRISTIC telex Christic Institute christic PeaceNet Washington, D.C. tcn tcn449 202-797-8106 voice uunet!pyramid!cdp!christic UUCP 202-529-0140 BBS cdp!christic%labrea@stanford Bitnet 202-462-5138 fax cdp!christic@labrea.stanford.edu Internet ** End of text from cdp:christic.news **