"[Censored] should be affixed to the bulletin boards in every newsroom in America. And, perhaps, read aloud to a few publishers and television executives."--RALPH NADER The annual yearbook from Project Censored features the year's most underreported news stories, striving to unmask censorship, self-censorship, and propaganda in corporate-controlled media outlets. Featuring the top 25 most underreported stories, as voted by scholars, journalists, and activists across the country and around the world, as well as chapters exploring timely issues from the previous year with more in-depth analysis.

A groundbreaking and surprising look at contemporary censorship in China As authoritarian governments around the world develop sophisticated technologies for controlling information, many observers have predicted that these controls would be easily evaded by savvy internet users. In Censored, Margaret Roberts demonstrates that even censorship that is easy to circumvent can still be enormously effective. Taking advantage of digital data harvested from the Chinese internet and leaks from China's Propaganda Department, Roberts sheds light on how censorship influences the Chinese public. Drawing parallels between censorship in China and the way information is manipulated in the United States and other democracies, she reveals how internet users are susceptible to control even in the most open societies. Censored gives an unprecedented view of how governments encroach on the media consumption of citizens.

“For more thanforty years, Project Censored has been our watchdog on the establishment media, casting its eye on how the information that we receive––and don’t receive––shapes our democracy. We need it more than ever today!” —Christopher Finan, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE STORIES PRESENTED IN CENSORED 2019: --“Open-Source” Intelligence Secrets Sold to Highest Bidders --ICE Intends to Destroy Records of Inhumane Treatment of Immigrants --Indigenous Communities around World Helping to Win Legal Rights of Nature --FBI Racially Profiling “Black Identity Extremists” --The Limits of Negative News and Importance of Constructive Media DID YOU KNOW THAT SINCE 1998 THE US GOVERNMENT SPENT $21 TRILLION IT CAN’T ACCOUNT FOR? Or that Internet co-ops are mobilizing poor communities to resist net neutrality rollbacks? How about the health risks of wireless tech that cell phone companies have covered up, or the opiate crisis that Big Pharma knowingly unleashed? Haven’t heard the news? Neither did the rest of the world. That’s because these and countless other news items are suppressed or ignored by our nation’s “free press” every day. For the past forty-three years, Project Censored has been unearthing the buried stories that corporate media deem unfit to print—and debunking the “fake news” governments and corporations use to consolidate their power—to promote well-informed citizen action and critical media literacy. This year’s Project Censored yearbook features: -- “Vetting Free Speech” by Sally Gimson, Layli Foroudi, and Sean Gallagher -- “#TimesUp: Breaking the Barriers of Sexual Harassment in Corporate Media for You and #MeToo” by Julie Frechette -- “Data Activism through Community Mapping and Data Visualization” by Dorothy Kidd -- “How Mainstream Media Evolved into Corporate Media” by Peter Phillips -- “Campus–Newsroom Collaborations” by Patricia W. Elliott -- “The Public and Its Problems” by Susan Maret Plus Junk Food News, News Abuse, and Media Democracy in Action. In a time of decline in the rule of law and democratic safeguards, Project Censored offers a constructive alternative to the “fake news” blues, holding the corporate media to account for its negative bias, propaganda for wealth and power, and outright censorship.

The updated paperback edition of HATE dispels misunderstandings plaguing our perennial debates about "hate speech vs. free speech," showing that the First Amendment approach promotes free speech and democracy, equality, and societal harmony. As "hate speech" has no generally accepted definition, we hear many incorrect assumptions that it is either absolutely unprotected or absolutely protected from censorship. Rather, U.S. law allows government to punish hateful or discriminatory speech in specific contexts when it directly causes imminent serious harm. Yet, government may not punish such speech solely because its message is disfavored, disturbing, or vaguely feared to possibly contribute to some future harm. "Hate speech" censorship proponents stress the potential harms such speech might further: discrimination, violence, and psychic injuries. However, there has been little analysis of whether censorship effectively counters the feared injuries. Citing evidence from many countries, this book shows that "hate speech" are at best ineffective and at worst counterproductive. Therefore, prominent social justice advocates worldwide maintain that the best way to resist hate and promote equality is not censorship, but rather, vigorous "counterspeech" and activism.

In the midst of Trump's attacks on the media, comes this look at the rigorous, independent reporting of the year's most underreported news stories. While the country's president displays a brazen disregard for the First Amendment and routinely demonizes the press as "the enemy of the people," Censored 2020 looks beyond Donald Trump's dizzying contempt for the truth to clarify the corporate media's complicity in misinforming the American public--while also providing a clear vision of a better future, based on rigorous, trustworthy independent reporting that presents a fuller picture of truth. With a discerning eye, Censored 2020 focuses the public's attention on the most important but underreported news stories of 2018-2019. These stories expose the corporate news media's systemic blind spots while highlighting the crucial role played by independent journalists in providing the kind of news necessary for informed, engaged citizens. The book also examines this year's lowlights in "junk food news" and "news abuse"--further revealing how corporate news often functions as propaganda--as well as highlights of exemplary organizations that champion "Media Democracy in Action." Additional chapters address the importance of constructive journalism, the untold story of Kashmir, news coverage of LGBTQ issues in the Trump era, "fake news" as a Trojan horse for censorship, and online memes as a form of political communication.

Film Censorship is a concise overview of Hollywood censorship and efforts to regulate American films. It provides a lean introductory survey of U.S. cinema censorship from the pre-Code years and classic studio system Golden Age—in which film censorship thrived—to contemporary Hollywood. From the earliest days of cinema, movies faced controversy over screen images and threats of censorship. This volume draws extensively on primary research from motion picture archives to unveil the fascinating behind-the-scenes history of cinema censorship and explore how Hollywood responded to censorial constraints on screen content in a changing American cultural and industrial landscape. This primer on American film censorship considers the historical evolution of motion-picture censorship in the United States spanning the Jazz Age Prohibition era, lobbying by religious groups against Hollywood, industry self-censorship for the Hays Office, federal propaganda efforts during wartime, easing of regulation in the 1950s and 1960s, the MPAA ratings system, and the legacy of censorship in later years. Case studies include The Outlaw, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Scarface, Double Indemnity, Psycho, Bonnie and Clyde, Midnight Cowboy, and The Exorcist, among many others.

In the midst of Trump's attacks on the media, comes this look at the rigorous, independent reporting of the year's most underreported news stories. While the country's president displays a brazen disregard for the First Amendment and routinely demonizes the press as "the enemy of the people," Censored 2020 looks beyond Donald Trump's dizzying contempt for the truth to clarify the corporate media's complicity in misinforming the American public--while also providing a clear vision of a better future, based on rigorous, trustworthy independent reporting that presents a fuller picture of truth. With a discerning eye, Censored 2020 focuses the public's attention on the most important but underreported news stories of 2018-2019. These stories expose the corporate news media's systemic blind spots while highlighting the crucial role played by independent journalists in providing the kind of news necessary for informed, engaged citizens. The book also examines this year's lowlights in "junk food news" and "news abuse"--further revealing how corporate news often functions as propaganda--as well as highlights of exemplary organizations that champion "Media Democracy in Action." Additional chapters address the importance of constructive journalism, the untold story of Kashmir, news coverage of LGBTQ issues in the Trump era, "fake news" as a Trojan horse for censorship, and online memes as a form of political communication.

A wildly whimsical, validating, and exuberant reflection of the LGBTQ+ community, This Day in June welcomes kids to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united. Includes a Reading Guide full of facts about LGBTQ+ history and culture and a Note to Parents and Caregivers on how to talk to children about sexual orientation.

The new and improved "Censored," detailing the top censored stories and media analysis of 2020. Our nation's oldest news-monitoring group, Project Censored, refreshes its longstanding yearbook series, Censored, with State of the Free Press 2021. This edition offers a more succinct and comprehensive survey of the most important but underreported news stories of 2020; in addition to a comparative analysis of the current state of corporate and independent news media, and its effect on democracy. The establishment media sustains a decrepit post-truth era, as examined the lowlight features: "Junk Food News"-frivolous stories that distract the public from actual news-and-"News Abuse"-important stories covered in ways that undermine public understanding. The alternative media provokes a burgeoning critical media literacy age, as evaluated in the highlight feature: "Media Democracy in Action"-relevant stories responsibly reported on by independent organizations. Finally, in an homage to the history of the annual report, the editors reinstate the "Déjà vu News" feature-revisited stories from previous editions. State of the Free Press 2021 endows readers with the critical thinking and media literacy skills required to hold the corporate media to account for distorting or censoring news coverage, and thus, to revitalize our democracy.