Monopolized Media Censorship

2013-04-09 "Prominent Establishment Journalists Turn Whistleblowers over News Censorship" 
from "Validated Independent News" [http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2013/04/09/prominent-establishment-journalists-turn-whistleblowers-over-news-censorship/]:
Student Researcher: Brittany Cocilova, Florida Atlantic University
Faculty Advisor: James Tracy, Ph.D., Florida Atlantic Universisity 
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Two former establishment journalists are blowing the whistle on their former employers for using censorship and propaganda to satisfy the agendas of domestic and foreign governments.
Instead of working to “print all the news that’s fit to print,” as the New York Times vows to do, Times journalist Daniel Simpson recently came forward claiming the paper is instead printing news that satisfies the agendas of those in power, mainly the US government. Tired of being a pawn, Simpson left the paper and spoke against the Times for its repeated censorship of his foreign policy reporting. Simpson further told reporters about the paper printing false intelligence information to start the war in Iraq.
Amber Lyon, a former CNN reporter, also recently came forward and said CNN censored her in-depth story on the brutality meted out by the Bahrain regime against pro-democracy protesters because the country is a financial backer of the network.
Censorship of critical journalism removes accountability from those in control, and can often result in blame being placed on the reporter for slipshod work.

Sources:
* Greenwald, Glenn. “Why didn’t CNN’s international arm air its own documentary on Bahrain’s Arab Spring repression?” The Guardian (UK), September 4, 2012. [http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/04/cnn-international-documentary-bahrain-arab-spring-repression?cat=world&type=article]
* J.D. Heyes, “Bombshell: CNN Takes Money from Foreign Dictators to Run Flattering News Stories About Them,” Natural News, October 4, 2012, [http://www.naturalnews.com/037423_CNN_payola_news_stories.html]
* Michael, Krieger, “Former reporter Amber Lyon Exposes Massive Censorship at CNN,” Liberty Blitzkrieg, September 4, 2012, [http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2012/09/04/meet-amber-lyon-former-reporter-exposes-massive-censorship-at-cnn/]
* Abby Martin, “NY Times Peddles War Propaganda/Interview with Daniel Simpson,” September 18, 2012, Breaking the Set, RT, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CuEqywX1VQ]


2012-08-18 "Pennsylvania law gags doctors to protect oil company profits"
by  L. Christopher Banks from "Validated Independent News" [http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2012/08/18/pennsylvania-law-gags-doctors-to-protect-oil-company-profits/]:
Student Researcher: Lyndsey Casey, Sonoma State University
Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University
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In communities affected by fracking, people understand the environment and their health is at risk. In Pennsylvania, a new state law requires drilling companies to tell doctors what chemicals they are pumping into the ground in order to extract natural gas. Doctors need to identify the chemicals so they can diagnose and treat patients who have been exposed. But there is a catch. Because the companies deem the chemical ingredients they are injecting into people’s backyards to be “proprietary secrets,” the law imposes a gag on doctors, meaning they are forbidden from telling anyone, including their own patients and other health professionals, what chemicals are causing the sickness. Pennsylvania’s landscape is pockmarked with over 5,000 oil and gas drilling wells, with more being added each week. Clusters of people are getting sick around the drilling wells. According to the logic of capitalism, it is more important to protect the “proprietary secrets” of oil and drilling companies than to protect public health.

Source:
Liberation news, June 13, 2012 [http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/pennsylvania-law-gags-doctors.html]