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AUTORE: ANNA GANDOLFI
n. matricola: 465545 LT
[email protected]
CORSO DI TEORIA E TECNICA DEL LINGUAGGIO GIORNALISTICO, A.A. 2002- 2003
PROF. RAFFAELE FIENGO
2
3
QUANDO IL QUARTO POTERE NASCONDE LE NOTIZIE SCOMODE
Alberto Cavallari ha definito il giornale come un sistema nel quale forze diverse si organizzano
gerarchicamente fino a raggiungere l'equilibrio. La proprietà, il marketing, i comitati di redazione:
molteplici fattori, molteplici interessi, vanno ad incidere sul flusso d'informazioni che ogni giorno
raggiunge il grande pubblico viaggiando attraverso i canali mediatici. A volte, non troppo raramente
a dire il vero, l'azione di queste forze determina gravi omissioni.
Negli Stati Uniti esiste qualcuno che si preoccupa di portare a conoscenza della popolazione le
notizie alle quali i PDMRUPDLQVWUHDPPHGLDnon danno spazio. Questo qualcuno sono le centinaia di
persone che lavorano ad un progetto diventato oggi, a poco meno di trent'anni dalla sua fondazione,
un vero punto di riferimento nel campo della lotta per la libera informazione: il «Project Censored».
Nato nel 1976 da un'idea di Carl Jensen, docente di scienze della comunicazione presso la Sonoma
State University, nella California settentrionale, il Project, «1RZFLWHGLQMRXUQDOLVPWH[WERRNVDQG
E\VXFKKLJKO\UHJDUGHGVFKRODUOLNH1RDP&KRPVN\DQG%HQ%DJGLNLDQª come scrive Jeff Elliot
su $OELRQ 0RQLWRU, si occupa rendere note le notizie che, pur essendo potenzialmente di grande
interesse per il pubblico, la stampa "importante" ha taciuto. Alla base del Project si colloca un lungo
lavoro di ricerca e selezione: un gruppo di studenti e docenti raccoglie testimonianze dirette e
articoli apparsi sui media minori, in proposito ad argomenti che considera sottovalutati. Dopo studi
accurati, le notizie sono sottoposte ad una giuria di giornalisti e politologi, che arriva a selezionare i
dieci argomenti 0RVW FHQVRUHG RI WKH \HDU, e che entreranno a far parte di un libro. Ogni
pubblicazione consente di ricavare un quadro attendibile di quella che è la cronaca "dimenticata" di
quel periodo.
Nel 1996 un articolo di Mark Lowenthal, intitolato «Twenty years of unfit - to - print news» con
chiaro riferimento al motto del progetto $OOWKHQHZVWKDWILWWRSULQW, annunciava la pubblicazione
del book 1996, che avrebbe segnato il raggiungimento del traguardo dei vent'anni di attività del
progetto. In questo modo il giornalista ripercorreva le fasi iniziali della fondazione:
1976 was something RI D VSHFLDO \HDU LQ 86 KLVWRU\ $ VWUDQJH PL[ RI ELFHQWHQQLDO QDWLRQDOLVP DQG SRVW
:DWHUJDWHVNHSWLFLVP seemed to energize the country in a way that we have not seen since. It was also during this year
that DSURIHVVRUDW6RQRPD6WDWH&ROOHJHLQ5RKQHUW3DUN&DOLIRUQLDFRQFHLYHGDUHVHDUFKSURMHFWZKLFKZRXOG
4
H[SORUH WKH H[WHQW WR ZKLFK PDMRU PDLQVWUHDP PHGLD OLPLW WKH UDQJH RI VXEMHFW PDWWHU WKDW LV UHOD\HG WR WKH
JHQHUDO SXEOLF. The professor Dr. Carl Jensen, set about his task by surveying hundreds of smaller-circulation
magazines, weekly papers, trade journals and public interest group reports. :KDW KH IRXQG VXUSULVHG HYHQ KLP
,QGHHG KH FRQFOXGHG D ZLGH UDQJH RI VXEMHFW PDWWHU DQG LPSRUWDQW DUWLFOHV QHYHU UHDFK WKH SXEOLF GXH WR D
FRPSOHWHODFNRIUHSRUWDJHRUXQGHUUHSRUWDJHHYHQWKRXJKVXFKPDWHULDOZDVDYDLODEOHDQGHDVLO\DFFHVVLEOH
WR WKH PDLQVWUHDP QHZV PHGLD. This seemed to suggest one of two things: either mainstream reporters and editors
maintained frighteningly narrow reading lists, or even more disturbing, these folks were aware of many of these stories,
but simply chose not to cover them.
-HQVHQZDVVRLQWULJXHGE\ZKDWKHGLVFRYHUHGWKDWKHGHFLGHGWRSXEOLVKKLVUHVHDUFKDQGLQVWLWXWLRQDOL]HLWDV
DQRQJRLQJ\HDUURXQGUHVHDUFKSURMHFWZKLFKKHGXEEHG3URMHFW&HQVRUHG
L’importanza eccessiva che i media dedicano a quelle che Carl Jensen ha definito le -XQN IRRG
QHZV, ossia quelle notizie di larghissimo consumo popolare, disimpegnate ed enfatizzabili attraverso
un facile sensazionalismo; l'
ingerenza d'
interessi di vario genere, in primis riferibili alla proprietà,
con gli argomenti che i media dovrebbero riportare; l'
autocensura, fenomeno galoppante dopo
l'
attentato alle Twin Towers: queste sono alcune delle forze che diventano determinanti
nell'
alterazione degli equilibri del sistema - giornale (e mediatico in genere), portando alla
scomparsa di alcune notizie. Con questi fattori Project Censored fa i conti di anno in anno,
riproponendosi di combattere lo stato di omertà in cui sono confinate informazioni che invece
meriterebbero una vasta divulgazione.
Tra le 1HZVWKDWGLGQ
WPDNHWKHQHZV riportate nel Book 2003, pubblicato nell'
ottobre del 2002 e
nel quale sono raccolte le notizie più trascurate del periodo successivo all'
attentato dell'
11
settembre, figurano argomenti come la concentrazione delle proprietà nei mezzi di comunicazione,
la privatizzazione dell'
acqua, il supporto fornito dalla polizia statunitense agli squadroni della morte
colombiani, le relazioni economiche tra la famiglia Bush e Bin Laden e l'
ostruzionismo a cui le
forze dell'
ordine hanno dovuto far fronte nell'
indagarne i particolari. E ancora, gli effetti negativi
dell'
accordo nordamericano di libero scambio ( Nafta), la crisi degli alloggi e le azioni della CIA in
Macedonia.
A volte succede che notizie come queste ritornino prepotentemente a galla grazie all'
impegno di
giornalisti evidentemente più memori di altri dell'
antico ruolo di ZDWFKGRJattribuito alla stampa,
che lavorano e si battono contro le penalizzazioni alla libertà d'
informazione inflitte dalle regole del
mercato, dalle lobby e dalla loro volontà assoluta di profitto, spesso subendone conseguenze in
prima persona. A questo proposito Jensen stesso, durante un'
intervista rilasciata nel febbraio 1998 a
Jeff Elliott di Albion Monitor, raccontò come un giornalista del Sant Jose Mercury News, Gary
Webb, perse il posto di lavoro per aver portato alla luce una notizia che avrebbe dovuto restare
XQGHUFRYHUHG, e di cui precedentemente lo stesso Project Censored si era occupato:
5
«The news was about Contra - Drug case. Our Project listed in 1987, and thought it was an important story being
overlooked by the mainstream media. The Christic Institute report that year described the whole thing -- WKH GUXJV
FRQWUDDQG&,$FRQQHFWLRQ. Then LQ*DU\:HEEDWWKH6DQ-RVH0HUFXU\1HZVORRNVLQWRWKDWVWRU\DQG
GRHVLQFUHGLEOHH[KDXVWLYHUHVHDUFK:KDWDSSHDUHGLQWKHQHZVSDSHUZDVMXVWWKHWLSRIWKHLFHEHUJEXWRQWKH
,QWHUQHW LW ZDV DOO WKHUH: the letters, interviews, everything. The background of this entire story. Webb updated the
Christic Institute to the present day, showing the impact of that whole conspiracy in terms of drugs in Los Angeles.
:KHQWKH&KULVWLF,QVWLWXWHGLGWKHVWRU\DQGZHSXEOLFL]HGLWDVRQHRIWKHFHQVRUHGVWRULHVQRQHRIWKHPHGLD
ZDVLQWHUHVWHG$QGZKHQ:HEEGLGWKHVWRU\WKHVDPHWKLQJKDSSHQHGIHZSDLGDWWHQWLRQ%XWZKHQLWZHQW
RXWRQWKHQHWLWH[SORGHGRYHUQLJKW. Everybody was talking about it. 7KHQWKHWKUHHPDMRUGDLOLHVLQWKH8QLWHG
6WDWHVKDGWRGRVRPHWKLQJWKH\FRXOGQ
WMXVWOHWLWJR:LWKLQWHQGD\VDOORIWKHPFDPHRXWZLWKDUWLFOHVDQG
HGLWRULDOVODPEDVWLQJ*DU\DQGWKH0HUFXU\1HZVIRUKDYLQJGRQHWKDWVWRU\7KH1HZ<RUN7LPHV:DVKLQJWRQ
3RVWDQG/RV$QJHOHV7LPHVDOODWWDFNHGWKHVWRU\VDYDJHO\LQVLVWLQJWKDWWKHUHZDVQR&,$GUXJFRQQHFWLRQ and
so on. But those are blatant lies! They know damn well that in the past there have been many connections between the
CIA and drugs in Southeast Asia, Central America, and other places, too. There have been Congressional investigations
on it. :KDWKDSSHQHGWR*DU\:HEELVDJRRGH[DPSOHRIZKDWKDSSHQVZKHQ\RXGRWKHVHVHQVLWLYHVWRULHV+H
ZDVOLWHUDOO\VKRYHG RXWE\WKH 0HUFXU\1HZV DQGWKH HGLWRUUDQD FROXPQDSRORJL]LQJ DQG NRZWRZLQJWRWKH
WKUHHPDMRUQHZVSDSHUV To let his own journalist down like that... it was incredible».
Vicende di questo tipo hanno portato il professore della Sonoma University a definire in modo
pessimistico il futuro del giornalismo, a causa del regime di monopolio al quale progressivamente la
stampa sta andando incontro, ma anche per l’indebolimento dei confini tra campi dominati da
marketing e advertising (quindi la pubblicità, gli inserzionisti), e quello della pura informazione. A
favore dei primi. In sostanza, citando il caso del Los Angeles Time e dell'
inserimento nelle scuole
di giornalismo americane di una materia che unisce comunicazione e pubblicità (IMC), Jensen è
arrivato a paventare di fronte ad Elliott uno spostamento preoccupante degli equilibri delle forze nel
sistema - giornale. Il fondatore del Project ha anche mostrato il suo scetticismo in proposito ad una
possibile rivincita dell'
obiettività d'
informazione attraverso gli DOWHUQDWLYHPHGLD, da lui ritenuti non
ancora abbastanza forti:
«,ZDVUHFHQWO\DVNHGIRU P\RSLQLRQRQWKH IXWXUH RIMRXUQDOLVPLQ$PHULFD ,VDLG WKHRXWORRNLV YHU\EOHDN.
First, there'
s the increasing monopolization of the press. Giant conglomerates are taking total control -- ten companies
control most of the media in the U.S.
Also, they'
re starting to teach "IMC" in journalism school --Integrated Marketing Communication. It combines
advertising, marketing, public relations and journalism. That'
s already happening in the media. Last fall, WKH/$7LPHV
PHUJHGLWV DGYHUWLVLQJDQGHGLWRULDO GHSDUWPHQWV- and they announced gleefully that executives from advertising
and marketing and editorial will sit down together to map out the news strategy. This is totally unheard of7KHGLYLVLRQ
EHWZHHQHGLWRULDODQGDGYHUWLVLQJDWDUHVSRQVLEOHQHZVSDSHUZDV DOZD\VVDFURVDQFW. And now the LA Times --
one of the top three newspapers in the country -- is blatantly doing that. It'
s chilling. ,
YH GHEDWHG WKLV ZLWK -LP
6
+LJKWRZHU ZKR
V RSWLPLVWLF EHFDXVH RI WKH DOWHUQDWLYH QHZV LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV SURJUDPV OLNH KLV 135
3DFLILFDUDGLRDQGWKHDOWHUQDWLYHZHHNOLHV%XW,GRQ
WDJUHH,GRQ
WVHHWKRVHPHGLDUHDFKLQJRXWZLWKWKHVFRSH
DQGLQWHQVLW\QHHGHGWRJHWWKHVHVWRULHVRXWWRWKHSXEOLF7KHIDFWLVZH
UHORVLQJ.».
7KDW
V D GHSUHVVLYH PHVVDJH :H DUH ORVLQJ PU -HQVHQ" In realtà una speranza, perché avvenga
un'
inversione di rotta che consenta ai mezzi di comunicazione di riprendere la loro originaria
funzione, secondo Carl Jensen esiste: dal momento in cui i media falliscono nel portare avanti il
loro compito, permettendo alle elitè che detengono il potere di esercitare pressioni tali da sfociare
nella censura di notizie importanti per il pubblico, allora ciò che veramente potrà apportare un
cambiamento sarà la determinazione del pubblico stesso nel battersi perché le informazioni
emergano. Esistono già alcuni esempi, che il fondatore del progetto non esita a menzionare:
«When I was doing the Project Censored newsletter several years ago, , UHFHLYHG D OHWWHU IURP D OLWWOH YHWHUDQ
V
RUJDQL]DWLRQ LQ WKH1RUWKHDVW7KH\ZHUH KRSLQJWRJHWVRPH PHGLDFRYHUDJHEHFDXVH PDQ\RIWKHLU*XOI:DU
YHWHUDQVZHUHEHFRPLQJLOO Nobody knew what was happening, but they wanted somebody to investigate. I wrote that
up several times in my newsletter, but nobody picked it up. Of course, it developed into a major story about ongoing
health problems. 9HWHUDQVJURXSVFRRUGLQDWHGWKHLUHIIRUWVWRSXVKLWWKH\OLWHUDOO\PDGHWKDWDQDWLRQDOLVVXHE\
KRXQGLQJWKH PHGLDDQGSROLWLFLDQVWRSD\DWWHQWLRQ,IHQRXJKSHRSOHJHWPDGGHUWKDQ KHOOWKURXJKWKHLURZQ
JUDVVURRWVRUJDQL]DWLRQVWKH\PD\EHDEOHWRJHWWKHLUVWRULHVRXW».
Oggi Project Censored garantisce voce a persone come questi veterani di guerra. Affrontando e
superando l'
indifferenza mediatica di cui lui stesso è vittima (I grandi mezzi d'
informazione
raramente danno spazio al lavoro del gruppo), il progetto può tranquillamente essere visto come il
ZDWFKGRJ RI ZDWFKGRJV ma anche come un punto di riferimento per gli RPEXGVPHQ (reporters
investigativi indipendenti) e per coloro che credono che la libertà e l'
obiettività siano caratteristiche
indissolubilmente legate alla professione giornalistica, che al suo interno cela la precisa
responsabilità di ricerca della verità. $OOWKHQHZVWKDWILWWRSULQW: e alla Sonoma State University
pare siano davvero determinati a far sì che queste news, se potenzialmente importanti per la società
VKROXGQRWEHVRHDVLO\GLVPLVVHG.
7
PETER PHILLIPS
Nel 1996, dopo due decadi di lavoro instancabile, Carl Jensen si è ritirato dall'
attività accademica
affidando al professor Peter Phillips la guida del suo esperimento. Phillips, da molti anni attivo in
organizzazioni no - profit, era ed è tuttora docente di sociologia presso la Sonoma State University.
In molti hanno seguito con apprensione questo cambiamento: del resto Phillips si trovava, oltre che
ad occupare il posto di colui che negli anni era divenuto uno degli emblemi della lotta per la libertà
della stampa negli States, a dover assumere un ruolo tutt'
altro che semplice. Diventare il direttore di
Project Censored significa ricoprire una posizione delicata e assumersi la responsabilità di portare
alla ribalta notizie scomode, che più di una volta hanno chiamato in causa l'
operato dello stesso
Governo. Con il passare del tempo Phillips si è rivelato un degno sostituto di Jensen, con il quale ha
mostrato d'
avere in comune l'
attaccamento per i valori che fanno dei media strumenti realmente utili
alla crescita sociale, e il desiderio di tramandare questa consapevolezza ad ognuno degli studenti
coinvolti nell'
avventura del progetto.
La freelance Alice Sunshine ha raccontato il passaggio avvenuto nella direzione, raccogliendo
anche le testimonianze di alcuni alunni di Phillips:
Phillips prepared for the undertaking with 25 years managing nonprofit organizations. He recalls how the emeritus
director Carl Jensen who started the project in 1975 approached him. ³&DUOQHHGHGWRUHWLUH´3KLOOLSVUHFDOOV³,ZDV
DQHZVRFLRORJLVWRQWKHEORFN´-HQVHQFKHFNHGRXWKLVFUHGHQWLDOVDQGGLVVHUWDWLRQ³,ORRNHGDWLVVXHVRISRZHU
DQG FRQWURO +H OLNHG WKDW +H LQYLWHG PH WR OXQFK DQG DVNHG PH WR WDNH WKH 3URMHFW´
Jensen made a good choice. With one full-time intern coordinator, Phillips oversees the research, publicity and
publishing. He works with volunteers to raise about $80,000 a year to pay for everything. He also teaches a full load,
advises students and grades papers. In his remaining time, Phillips serves on the academic senate and helps to lead CFA
as vice president at Sonoma State. Phillips describes the Project as pedagogy with a purpose. That, too, keeps him
going. “Activism is do-able through the university. Bringing information to the world is very achievable. We can do it
right in our classrooms. We can get the students motivated by social justice, freedom and the democratic process.”
Back in the classroom, four students are describing their new-found talents ³7KDW¶V ZKDW FROOHJH LV DOO DERXW ,I ,
ZDONRXWZLWKQRWKLQJHOVH,KDYHFULWLFDOWKLQNLQJVNLOOV´ says Melissa Bonham. Then lowering their voices, so he
won’t hear the embarrassing praise, they credit Phillips. “He’s really supportive,” says Corey Hale. “There’s nothing
narrow about him. He’s just open. There’s nothing to fear in him”.
8
Nella GLUHFWRU
VFROXPQ del sito dedicato al book del 1997, Peter Pillips ha presentato il primo libro
nel quale è stato raccolto il lavoro svolto sotto la sua guida, mostrando chiaramente la
determinazione a portare avanti il compito assegnatogli da Jensen nel migliore dei modi.
Se alcune notizie di notevole importanza restano XQGHUFRYHUHG ha spiegato il professore nello
spazio a lui riservato, esistono sempre motivi specifici. Nella grande maggioranza dei casi queste
omissioni dipendono da censure di tipo ideologico o commerciale. Tali forze
risultano così
determinanti all'
interno del sistema - giornale, da portare all'
eliminazione di informazioni importanti
per la popolazione, implicando una grave lesione dell'
etica giornalistica.
Il direttore del progetto nel 1997 citava la guerra del Golfo come uno dei più gravi casi di
applicazione di censura ideologica, ma è chiaro come oggi le cose non sono cambiate: la censura e
l'
autocensura applicate nel trattare la guerra contro il terrorismo mostrano una forza anche maggiore
rispetto al periodo citato da Phillips.
I PHJDPHGLD sono i canali di comunicazione che maggiormente subiscono lo sbilanciamento delle
forze a favore degli interessi delle elitè: secondo il professore non è però impossibile la creazione di
un nuovo GHPRFUDWLF IUHH QHZV V\VWHP, che permetta al pubblico di accedere ad argomenti
censurati. Tra le soluzioni possibili c'
è, ad esempio, la valorizzazione del lavoro degli RPEXGVPHQ e
del libero giornalismo investigativo.
E'necessario perseguire l'
istituzione di un sistema parallelo a quello grandi media, nel quale il
campo di forze ritorni ad essere normalizzato. Ecco cosa scriveva Peter Phillips nel 1997:
Project Censored’s name is often interpreted by journalists as suggesting that editors and journalists are conspiring to
keep important news stories from the American public. We belive that journalists are strong advocates and belivers in
First Amendment and shared a common freedom of the press ethic. +RZHZHULPSRUWDQWQHZVVWRULHVRIWHQUHPDLQ
XQGHUFRYHUHG LQ WKH PDLQVWUHDP PHGLD DQG WKHUH DUH LPSRUWDQW RUJDQL]DWLRQDO VWUXFWXUDO UHDVRQV ZK\ WKLV
RFFXUV.
(…) ,GHRORJLFDOFHQVRUVKLS is the traditional editing out of news stories that run counter the beliefs and values of the
owners and editors of media organizations. Complete objective neutrality in reporting is impossible. Some bias
inevitability occurs in the selection, framing and resource allocation to competing news stories. Additionally,
governmental and corporate censorship occurs for national or corporate security reasons which limits access to full
investigation of stories. The gulf war was perhaps the most recent dramatic example of governmental ideological
censorship.
0DUNHW SODFH FHQVRUVKLS is the tendency for mediafor the media organizations to not offend major advertisers with
news stories that might be deemed derogatory. This form of censorship can be very subtle as editors make news
assignments and decision on stories to be covered. Exceptions occur all the time, neverthless the underlying
psychological understanding that offending advertisers hurts the bottom line undoubtely affects news decisions.
9
(…) A democratic free news system in the United States will required checks and balances within mega - media
organizations. Ombudsmen, indipendent investigative reporters with budgets, and community rewiew boards are but a
few possibilities of assuring full public access to important news stories.
Nel 2001 un altro grande intellettuale dei nostri tempi, il giornalista e scrittore Noam Chomsky, che
da anni segue ed ammira il lavoro di Project Censored, ha dedicato un saggio alla ricorrenza del
venticinquesimo anniversario del progetto fondato da Carl Jensen.
Secondo il Chomsky, per comprendere le modalità con le quali all'
interno dei grandi media viene
regolato il flusso di notizie che raggiunge il pubblico, è necessario introdurre una distinzione di base
che riguardi i fruitori delle notizie e gli stessi committenti. Lo scrittore individua due classi
fondamentali: la PDQDJHULDOFODVV, ossia quel gruppo sociale elitario che, a causa della sua influenza
politico - economica, determina le scelte e il destino dell'
intera società, e WKHUHVW il resto, tutti gli
altri che si trovano a dover accettare quello che pochi decidono. Nel campo dell'
informazione
l'
esistenza di questa duplice categoria si esprime nella possibilità della prima di oscurare e censurare
informazioni che risulterebbero importanti per la seconda.
Qualcuno è addirittura arrivato a definire il pubblico WKHJUHDWEHDVW una bestia che, diversamente
dalla scaltra classe manageriale, astutamente capace di guidare i giochi, può essere raggirata e resa
mansueta dalla convinzione che il non interferire con le decisioni prese dall'
alto sia suo preciso
dovere, un compito da adempire perchè i leaders possano perseguire il bene del paese:
:HFDQPDNHDURXJKGLVWLQFWLRQEHWZHHQWKHPDQDJHULDOFODVVDQGWKHUHVW7KHPDQDJHUVWDNHSDUWLQGHFLVLRQ
PDNLQJLQWKHVWDWHWKHSULYDWHHFRQRP\DQGWKHGRFWULQDOLQVWLWXWLRQV7KHUHVWDUHWRFHGHDXWKRULW\WRVWDWH
DQGSULYDWHHOLWHV, to accept what they are told, and to occupy themselves elsewhere. There is a corresponding rough
distinction between elite and mass media, the former aiming to be instructive, though in ways that reflect dominant
interests; the latter primarily to shape attitudes and beliefs, and to divert WKH JUHDW EHDVW, as Alexander Hamilton
termed the annoying public.The managers must have a tolerably realistic picture of the world if they are to advance "the
permanent interests of the country," to borrow the phrase of James Madison, the leading framer of the constitutional
order, referring to the rights of men of property. The world view of planners and decision makers should conform to the
permanent interests, not just parochially but more broadly. 7KHJUHDWEHDVWLQFRQWUDVWPXVWEHFDJHG7KHSXEOLF
PXVWKDYHIDLWKLQWKHOHDGHUVZKRSXUVXH$PHULFD
VPLVVLRQ, perhaps subject to personal flaws, or making errors
in an excess of good will or naivete, but dedicated to the path of righteousness. )LUPLQWKLVFRQYLFWLRQWKHSXEOLFLV
WRNHHSWRSXUVXLWVWKDWGRQRWLQWHUIHUHZLWKWKHSHUPDQHQWLQWHUHVWV. It must accept subordination as normal and
proper; better still, it should be invisible, the way life is and must be.
Una presa di coscienza da parte del grande pubblico, quindi, comincia proprio dal fatto che 7KHUHVW
non deve più essere tale. L'
informazione obbiettiva è un diritto e una necessità, ma potrà essere
raggiunta soltanto se la grande bestia capirà che non deve lasciarsi ingabbiare, e che tutti i mezzi per
fare questo sono in suo potere, dato che in realtà è proprio da lei e dalle sue scelte che dipendono le
10
forze delle elitè. Secondo Chomsky, l'
esistenza di gruppi come quello di Project Censored indica un
segnale positivo nel fenomeno di ripristino dell'
equilibrio nella diffusione dell'
informazione.
LA REALIZZAZIONE DEL BOOK
Ma come si svolge, nel concreto, il lavoro di Project Censored? Per quanto riguarda l'
illustrazione
di questo passaggio, si è rivelato molto importante l'
aiuto di Alessandra Diana, una ragazza
originaria di Varese che da diversi anni vive in California collaborando attivamente con Peter
Phillips e con il suo gruppo di studio. Laureata in scienze della comunicazione presso la Sonoma
State University, Alessandra ha iniziato a operare in Project Censored nei primi mesi 2001. Si è
occupata per Phillips dello studio di molte XQGHUFRYHUHGQHZV, realizzando anche un servizio sugli
avvenimenti collegati al G8 che nel 2001 si è tenuto a Genova. Il suo recapito era disponibile in rete
proprio perché, al fine di reperire dati sull'
accaduto, aveva preso contatti con diversi forum No
Global. In questo modo è stato possibile contattarla, e ricevere informazioni dirette su quella che è
la realizzazione concreta del book annuale.
«Seguo il Project da diverso tempo - ha spiegato -, ed avendolo scelto come "elective" per
perfezionare la mia capacità di scrittura, ho avuto la possibilità di instaurare una collaborazione
costante con il gruppo di Phillips. Ho 29 anni: anche se non sono più una studentessa, ho scelto di
continuare a seguire il progetto».
«Project Censored è stato fondato da Carl Jensen nel 1976. Oggi Peter Phillips lo dirige presso il
reparto di sociologia del dipartimento scienze sociali della Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park,
California. Questa collocazione è piuttosto recente, risale infatti al 1996, anno in cui Jensen è
andato in pensione: prima di allora era il dipartimento di scienze della comunicazione la sede del
gruppo di ricerca. Il progetto, che ogni anno concretizza il suo iter con la pubblicazione di un book,
è basato sull'
analisi dei media e sulla sociologia investigativa».
Oltre 200 persone, ogni anno, partecipano alla realizzazione del libro che raccoglie le notizie
censurate: «Tra coloro che s'
impegnano in questo lavoro ci sono studenti, docenti, personale
universitario, giudici nazionali, ma anche ricercatori ed esperti in svariati campi. Il book 2003 è
stato eleborato in 18 mesi, mentre precedentemente gli studi si svolgevano sulle notizie di 12 mesi.
Per questa edizione sono stati analizzati più di 900 spunti, inviati attraverso internet o via posta da
giornalisti, studenti, professori. Attualmente (gennaio 2003, ndr) sono iniziati i lavori sul testo del
11
2004: potranno essere presentati argomenti fino alla primavera».
Le operazioni di selezione e approfondimento delle notizie si svolgono durante tutto il corso
dell'
anno accademico, coinvolgendo diverse classi di studenti: «Una volta che gli argomenti sono
stati presentati, saranno i ragazzi del semestre successivo ad avviare i lavori di verifica, utilizzando
il web». Una notizia è ritenuta valida soltanto se realmente taciuta dai PDMRUPDLQVWUHDPPHGLD
americani. La trattazione dell'
argomento da parte della stampa straniera non pregiudica, invece, la
prosecuzione delle analisi. Spesso, ad esempio, tra le fonti delle 0RVWXQGHUFRYHUHGQHZV si trova
WKH*XDUGLDQ: «Se l'
articolo è stato pubblicato dai media U.S. che '
contano'- ha continuato
Alessandra Diana -, come il New York Times o il Wall Street Journal, allora viene cestinato. A
volte è la stampa straniera ad occuparsene, ma non è detto che negli States le notizie siano riprese».
Continue selezioni segnano il procedere delle ricerche. «Le storie che passano lo scrutinio iniziale,
basato su una prima, parziale ricerca nel web, divengono oggetto di ulteriori ricerche telematiche.
Peter Phillips, durante le lezioni del corso che tiene presso l'
ateneo, legge alla classe i titoli degli
articoli su cui potenzialmente si può lavorare e gli studenti scelgono quelli più li interessano. Ogni
settimana vengono assegnati minimo tre temi da approfondire. Se la notizia non è apparsa nemmeno
su media minori, allora sarà l'
universitario stesso a scrivere un articolo, realizzando una sorta di
riassunto».
«Di questi argomenti dovrà di nuovo essere accertata la natura XQGHUFRYHUHG. Le operazioni si
estendono per un lungo periodo di tempo, perché è necessario verificare la persistenza delle censura
dei media maggiori. Una votazione finale da parte degli studenti selezionerà, tra quelle ritenute
valide, cento notizie. Queste verranno presentate ad esperti e professori già coinvolti in Project
Censored, che dovranno sceglierne venticinque. Le vincenti saranno inviate ai giudici nazionali,
eletti di anno in anno, che ne evidenzieranno dieci. Tutte e venticinque le notizie saranno riportate
nel book, ma le migliori, rigorosamente ordinate in graduatoria, otterranno maggiore spazio».
Dopo che la classifica è stata stilata, gli argomenti vengono inseriti nel libro correlati da ogni
informazione utile, come le fonti utilizzate e il nome degli studenti che vi hanno lavorato. Un breve
commento, realizzato dal ricercatore stesso o da un esperto dell'
ambito delle scienze della
comunicazione, segue ciascun tema.
Nel Book 2003 trovano ampio spazio anche saggi di giornalisti, intellettuali e docenti dedicati
all'
analisi del mondo dei media. La descrizione dei %LJ7HQ0HGLD*LDQWV, ad opera di Mark Crispin
Miller; un trattato sul fenomeno dell'
autocensura, di Norman Solomon; la guida del Project alle
fonti d'
informazione indipendenti: questi sono alcuni degli argomenti trattati. Diverse pagine sono
poi dedicate alla ricapitolazione delle notizie più importanti censurate nel 2000.
12
«Sebbene la tendenza della stampa maggiore sia quella di ignorare il nostro lavoro o di concederci
poca rilevanza - ha concluso Alessandra Diana -, Project Censored ha ricevuto recentemente
critiche positive da Los Angeles Times e American Journalism Review, oltre che da personalità
importanti come Ralph Nader, Walter Cronkite, Noam Chomsky, Jim Hightower e Michael
Chrichton. Il fatto che voci autorevoli riconoscano al progetto un merito credo sia importante,
poiché indica la concreta esistenza di una volontà di indebolire i vincoli colpevoli di osteggiare la
libertà di stampa».
CENSORED 2003, MEDIA DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
Gli americani sono senza cuore? Il primo capitolo del Book 2003 si apre con un interrogativo.
La nostra società, si chiede Peter Phillips, autore del saggio, è ormai irrimediabilmente corrotta e
degradata? Osservando quanto il mondo degli 86 FRUSRUDWLYH PHGLD offre al pubblico,
sembrerebbe di sì. Nell'
odierna informazione per questioni d'
importanza umanitaria pare sempre più
sapesso non esserci spazio. Se l'
ultimo scandalo riguardante la diva del momento arriva a
prevaricare violentemente informazioni come il fenomeno di privatizzazione dell'
acqua e il carico
di morte che nel terzo mondo ne consegue, allora è davvero il caso di chiedersi dove sia finito il
cuore degli statunitensi, e se questa situazione mediatica rifletta realmente i loro interessi.
Are Americans becoming heartless?
Are we less sensitive to others?
Is our society really becoming corrupt and degraded?
As we follow American corporate media today we can only answer yes to each of these questions. Washington sex
scandals, celebrity exposés, gruesome murders, gang, crime, corruption and conspicuous consumption fill the airwawes
and newspapers. When questioned about the appropriateness of sensationalized news coverage and heartless human
episodes, corporate media responds by saying, «we are just giving the public what it wants».
Media shift the responsibility for sensationalized coverage to a prurient citizenry'
s market demands for more blood,
gore and opulence.
Il rigore raccomandato dall’etica giornalistica si direbbe aver abdicato a favore delle leggi di
mercato e di profitto. Dei valori tradizionali, che portavano i reporters ad essere mezzi d’espressione
di una democrazia che si esprimeva anche attraverso la libertà di stampa, oggi paiono resistere
soltanto poche tracce.
Mentre i grandi media dicono di offrire al pubblico "ciò che esso chiede", il flusso d'
informazioni
da loro proveniente pullula di scandali e pettegolezzi.
Censorship today is a soubtle system of information suppression in the name of corporate profit and self - interest.
It is also safe to say that major media in the United States effectively represent the interests of corporate America. News
and information in U.S. society have become a top - down entertainment system with capsulized parrotings of
government/corporate ideological messages.
13
Non sempre, però, questo processo di censura volta al guadagno arriva al fine che si prefigge,
permettendo di emergere ad alcune notizie che, secondo biechi meccanismi, dovrebbero restare
taciute.
Un caso clamoroso è rappresentato proprio dall'
argomento classificatosi al primo posto nella
rassegna del book 2003, in cui il protagonista è lo lo stesso sistema dei PDMRUPDLQVWUHDPPHGLD
©)&&0RYHV7R3ULYDWL]H$LUZDZHVª (Testo completo, student researchers, faculty evaluator e
fonti da vedere sul file allegato) - La notizia riguarda la concentrazione della proprietà nel mondo
dell'
informazione, unita alle pressioni che le lobby sono arrivate ad esercitare sulla Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), e conseguentemente su gran parte di ciò che il pubblico
statunitense legge, ascolta, vede in televisione.
Successivamente alla nomina, da parte di George W. Bush, di Michael K. Powell, figlio del
Segratario di stato americano Colin Powell, al titolo di presidente della Federal Communications
Commission, si è verificato un episodio che non ha potuto che sottolineare il preoccupante livello a
cui sono giunti il controllo della stampa da parte delle multinazionali e l'
incapacità dei media di
parlare di sè stessi.
Alcune fonti, anche autorevoli come il britannico WKH*XDUGLDQ, che trattò la notizia nell'
aprile del
2001, hanno fatto sì che un vero e proprio tentativo di privatizzazione dell'
etere non passasse
inosservato: nel 2001, all'
interno della dirigenza stessa della FCC, è stata considerata la proposta di
una vendita pressochè completa delle frequenze radiotelevisive. Lontana dall'
essere scongiurata,
questa eventualità ha suscitato diverse polemiche, soprattutto a causa del fatto che Powell,
avvalendosi della sua carica istituzionale, stesse promuovendo una scelta essenzialmente opposta ai
principi di pluralità e libertà d'
informazione su cui si dovrebbe fondare l'
operato della FCC.
Contro la volontà di privatizzazione delle DLUZDZHV si è schierata, in nome della tutela delle
minoranze e delle diversità dei punti di vista, l'
associazione Democratic Media Legal Project
(DMLP) di San Francisco.
Laura Huntington e Lauren Fox si sono occupate dell'
argomento per Project Censored, studiando le
notizie riportate da 0HGLDILOH 0RWKHU -RQHV e WKH *XDUGLDQ. Confrontando le fonti, le due
studentesse hanno realizzato l'
articolo apparso sul Book 2003.
©8QLWHG6WDWHV
3ROLFLHVLQ&RORPELD6XSSRUW0DVV0XUGHUª (Documento in file allegato) La notizia classificatasi al terzo posto nelle graduatoria riguarda il coinvolgimento degli Stati Uniti
nelle azioni di terrorismo colombiano. E'stato infatti dimostrato come Dollari Usa abbiano
finanziato uno dei gruppi paramilitari nelle sue attività illecite e omicide in Sudamerica. Quando il
caso emerse ( il primo a riportarla fu il &RXQWHUSXQFK, nel luglio del 2001, e parte della storia
14
apparve anche sui media maggiori) non ne seguì alcun tipo di provvedimento istituzionale, e i
media maggiori continuarono ad ignorare l'
argomento. Il giornalista Jim Laboe oggi sostiene che la
stessa guerra contro il terrorismo abbia contribuito a distogliere l'
attenzione dalla questione
colombiana. Gli studenti della Sonoma University che hanno lavorato all'
articolo sono Lauren
Renison, e Adam Cimino.
©%XVK $GPLQLVWUDWLRQ +DPSHUHG )%, ,QYHVWLJDWLRQ ,QWR %LQ /DGHQ )DPLO\ %HIRUH ª
(documento in file allegato) - Un fattore che da sempre esiste all'
interno del mondo della stampa,
ma che
successivamente
all'
attentato
dell'
11 settembre ha
assunto una connotazione
eccezionalmente vasta, è quello dell'
autocensura. Lo squarcio aperto nel cuore dell'
America ha
avuto chiare ripercussioni sui suoi canali d'
informazione che, annebbiati da riverberi patriottici più
o meno razionali, sono arrivati ad oscurare informazioni fondamentali per la comprensione delle
dinamiche collegate all'
attacco alle Twin Towers. Non è un caso, sostengono gli stessi ricercatori
del Project, che tra le fonti di argomenti scomodi in questo ambito figurino quasi totalmente media
stranieri.
E'un'
altra volta WKH*XDUGLDQ ad essere preso in considerazione dal gruppo di Phillips, nel momento
in cui la notizia su cui indagare riguarda i legami tra la famiglia Bush e quella di Bin Laden. Proprio
il quotidiano inglese, in collaborazione con la BBC News Night, in un servizio del 7 novembre
2001, rivelò l'
esistenza di un'
ordinanza della Presidenza degli Stati Uniti affinchè la famiglia saudita
fosse protetta da indagini e da attacchi della stampa. Il giorno dopo l'
argomento fu ripreso dal 7LPHV
RI ,QGLD, ed anche una FRUSRUDWH PHGLD FRYHUDJH (con questo nome Project Censored indica
l'
interessamento, anche se limitato, dei grandi media), da parte del Los Angeles Times è ststa
registrata nel gennaio del 2002.
Grazie ad un'
inchiesta, che trasse le basi da un testo scritto da Jean Charles Brisard e Guillaume
Dasquie, due studiosi di intelligence francesi, nel quale veniva documentata la presenza di interessi
petroliferi da parte degli States nei confronti dell'
Afghanistan, il reporter Greg Palast rivelò le
motivazioni per cui il Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI), prima dell'
11 settembre, smise di seguire
le tracce dei familiari di Bin Laden residenti negli Stati Uniti, ed in particolare quelle del fratello di
Osama, Abdullah, residente a Washington e sospettato di terrorismo fin dal 1996. La famiglia
presidenziale e quella dello sceicco risultarono avere entrambe partecipazioni nella grandissima
società di investimenti Carlyle Group, legata ad importanti contratti con la difesa statunitense.
Per Project Censored hanno seguito la notizia, classificatasi quarta nella WRS WHQ RI XQGHUFRYHUHG
QHZV, gli studenti Donald Yoon e David Himmel, coadiuvati dalla docente Catherine Nelson.
15
©1$)7$'HVWUR\V)DUPLQJ&RPPXQLWLHVLQ86DQG$EURDGª (documento in file allegato) Un’altra notizia messa a tacere dai grandi media riguarda il fatto che l’accordo americano di libero
scambio (NAFTA) e il fondo monetario internazionale non sono riusciti a far aumentare il reddito
degli agricoltori perché le regole dell'
intesa si sono dimostrate maggiormente interessate al
trasferimento della ricchezza dei piccoli operatori all'
interno delle multinazionali. A causa di
questo, mentre si verifica una continua ed esponenziale crescita dei guadagni per quanto riguarda i
colossi, sono arrivate al fallimento più di 33 mila aziende in situate varie zone del continente.
Nel 2001 pubblicarono la notizia due riviste, )HOORZVKLS RI 5HFRQFLOLDWLRQ e 7KH +LJKWRZHU
/RZGRZQ Sotto la supervisione di Tony White e Al Wahrhaftig, Alessandra Diana, Adam Cimino e
Erik Wagle hanno studiato il caso, che occupa l'
ottava posizione nella classifica del Book 2003.
©&,$'RXEOH'HDOVLQ0DFHGRQLDª(Documento in file allegato) - Al decimo posto si colloca
la notizia sull'
uso di forze Nato che il Governo degli States, in accordo con la Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), farebbe per tutelare un accordo con la Macedonia, al fine di controllarne le risorse
petrolifere: la supervisione e la proprietà del progetto Ambo (Albanian - macedonian - Bulgarian
Oil) per la costruzione di un oleodotto nei tre paesi balcanici sarebbero infatti state concesse ad una
società di proprietà del vicepresidente americano Dick Cheney. La fonte principale su questo
argomento è il sito di Globalresearch, vi hanno lavorato Alessandra Diana e David V. Immel.
Ecco l'
elenco delle 10 notizie PRVWXQGHUFRYHUHG riportate nel volume 2003 di Project Censored:
1- FCC moves to privatize Airwawes
2- New Trade Treat seeks to privatize Global Social Services
3- United States'Police in Colombia support mass murder
4- Bush administration hampered FBI investigation into Bin Laden family before 9/11
5- U.S. intentionally Destroyed Iraq'
s Water System
6- U.S. Government pushing nuclear revival
7- Corporations promote HMO model for school districts
8- NAFTA destroyng farming communities in U.S. and aboard
9- U.S faces national housing crisis
10- CIA double deals in Macedonia
16
JUNK FOOD NEWS
Considerare il giornale come un sistema all’interno del quale determinate forze entrano in
equilibrio, implica anche la necessità di osservare le cosiddette "complementarietà": in sostanza, se
una notizia oggettivamente importante viene omessa, nel campo di forze si creerà un vuoto che
dovrà essere riempito. Quale sarà, quindi, la materia complementare alle XQGHUFRYHUHGQHZV?
Carl Jensen è convinto che negli Stati Uniti l'
industria dell'
informazione sia regolata principalmente
sui temi d'
intrattenimento, i quali consentono facilmente di raggiungere alte tirature: questo implica
che argomenti rilevanti dal punto di vista politico, ambientale, sociale siano tagliati e sostituiti da
dettagliate cronache su scandali sessuali e vita privata di personaggi famosi, oltre che da
sanguinolenti resoconti di omicidi preferibilmente consumati tra le insospettabili mura di qualche
casa per bene. Il IOLSVLGHdelle storie censurate è costituito dalle cosiddette -XQNIRRGQHZV Presto
ci si renderà conto di come il fenomeno non sia solo recente. Ecco cosa scrive il professore in un
saggio dedicato a questo tipo d'
informazione:
In 1877, John B. Bogart, an editor with the New York Sun, offered a definition of news that has not only endured but,
indeed, seems to have become even more widely adhered to in recent years. Bogart wrote, :KHQDGRJELWHVDPDQ
WKDWLVQRWQHZVEHFDXVHLWKDSSHQVVRRIWHQ%XWLIDPDQELWHVDGRJLW¶VQHZV His definition implies that there is
a need for a sensationalistic aspect for an event to become news. It’ s an ingredient that now appears to be endemic in
the press. 0DQELWHVGRJLVWKHFODVVLFH[DPSOHRI-XQN)RRG1HZV.
Argomenti sensazionalistici, facilmente propinabili ad un pubblico che il più delle volte si rivela
senza troppe pretese, perché inconsapevole o semplicemente assuefatto a questo modo di fare
giornalismo.
Il mercato della stampa, secondo quanto sostiene Jensen, oggi subisce l'
invasione di questo tipo di
storie nelle quali, per fare un riferimento a quanto detto da Noam Chomsky, le elitè hanno trovato
un mezzo per ingabbiare e addomesticare WKHJUHDWEHDVW. Apparentemente innocua, l'
informazione
spazzatura può rivelarsi pericolosa per la sua capacità di distogliere l'
attenzione da argomenti
scomodi.
Non sono immuni da questo fenomeno neppure i giornali considerati autorevoli, nei quali accade
sempre più spesso che le -XQN IRRG QHZV facciano la loro apparizione plateale, a discapito di
17
informazioni meritevoli di più attenzione, ma considerate dalle proprietà più "noiose" e decisamente
meno fruttuose dal punto di vista delle vendite.
Dal 1984, Jensen si occupa di stilare una classifica che indichi quali argomenti di questo genere
siano stati maggiormente affrontate dai media. Ecco parte della selezione relativa al 2000.
Osservandola, è piuttosto facile capire come questo discorso sia applicabile anche ai canali
d'
informazione al di fuori degli States. Quante pagine, anche in Italia, furono dedicate all'
edizione
nostrana di "Big Brother"?
%5$1'1$0(1(:6 Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Madonna, Robert Downey Jr., John F. Kennedy Jr.
6(;1(:6 Ricky Martin’ s sexuality, Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche, and Pamela Anderson’ s breasts.
6+2:%,= 1(:6 "Survivor," "Big Brother," "Who Wants To Marry a Multi-Millionaire?," "Who Wants To Be a
Millionaire?"
Consapevole, e quindi con il chiaro intento di coprire con il baccano informazioni mal tollerate dai
gruppi al potere, o con lo scopo soltanto leggermente meno abbietto di guadagnare il più possibile,
il fenomeno dell'
informazione legata all'
intrattenimento di basso livello si rivela uno dei principali
complementi delle XQGHUFRYHUHGQHZV
Jensen cita un esempio di come il bilanciamento di forze all'
interno del sistema - giornale sia
avvenuto a discapito di una notizia delicata, favorendo la storiella -XQN )RRG del momento. La
testata di riferimento non è il tipico rotocalco popolare: si tratta infatti del New York Times, che nel
1981 dedicò più atttenzione alla gravidanza di un panda che ad un'
informazione determinante per la
ricerca medica e per la salute della popolazione:
My first published use of the term Junk Food News was in an article I wrote for Penthouse magazine in March 1983.
The article focused on a comparison of The New York Times coverage of two news events that occurred in 1981. ,Q
RQHFDVHWKH1HZ<RUN6WDWH:RUNHU
V&RPSHQVDWLRQ%RDUGUXOHGWKDWDWHOHSKRQHFRPSDQ\VXSHUYLVRUKDG
EHHQNLOOHGE\SURORQJHGH[SRVXUHWRPLFURZDYHUDGLDWLRQ,WZDVWKHILUVWRIILFLDOILQGLQJLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV
WKDWORQJWHUPH[SRVXUHWRPLFURZDYHVFRXOGFDXVHGHDWK
That information appeared to provide the basis for a significant news story. Experts at the time, and even to this day,
suggest that our nation is engulfed daily by microwave pollution that might endanger our health and lives
7KH1HZ<RUN7LPHV$PHULFD¶VQHZVSDSHURIUHFRUGGHYRWHGMXVWWKUHHFROXPQLQFKHVWRWKHGHDWKRIWKH
WHOHSKRQHFRPSDQ\VXSHUYLVRU
)RUFRPSDUDWLYHSXUSRVHVOLWWOHODWHUWKDW\HDU7KH1HZ<RUN7LPHVGHYRWHGILYHFROXPQLQFKHVWRDVWRU\
KHDGOLQHG/21'21=226$<63$1'$,635(*1$17. Throughout 1981, the Times ran 20 separate stories
about pandas, which took up more than 100 column-inches, while it referred back to the microwave death just once.
Some of the newsworthy headlines in the Times devoted to pandas included: "London’ s Giant Panda to Get U.S.
Valentine," "Panda Mating," "British Panda on Way to the U.S.," "London Zoo Says Panda is Pregnant".
:KHQWKHQDWLRQ¶VPRVWSUHVWLJLRXVQHZVSDSHUGHYRWHVWZLFHDVPXFKVSDFHWRWKHSUHJQDQF\RIDSDQGDLQD
/RQGRQ]RRDVLWGRHVWRWKHGHDWKRIDQ$PHULFDQFLWL]HQIURPPLFURZDYHUDGLDWLRQLQ1HZ<RUN&LW\LW¶VWLPH
WRTXHVWLRQWKHMXGJPHQWRIRXUQHZVPHGLDPDQDJHUV. The bottom line is that while the nation’ s most prestigious
newspaper essentially ignored a story about death from microwave radiation that potentially affects millions of people,
it found the space to report the intimate details of a panda couple—a classic Junk Food News story that, without media
coverage, would affect few of us.
18
La questione, oggi, è quella di rendersi conto che questa "abbuffata" di -XQNIRRGQHZV necessita
d'
essere arginata, oltre che razionalmente riconosciuta.
Il problema, sostiene Carl Jensen, non riguarda le notizie in sè, bensì la quantità e lo spazio che il
mercato dell'
informazione dedica loro.
In realtà non è troppo tardi per cominciare a diminuire le dosi di notizie di puro intrattenimento:
basterebbe seguire una "dieta" maggiormente controllata. Ogni tassello del sistema dovrebbe però
collaborare e mirare, nel sua ambito, al cambiamento del trend. Ma come? Se si osserva con
attenzone, sostiene il fondatore di Project Censored, si potrà vedere come sia il sistema stesso a
fornire una via d'
uscita. La storia stessa ha in sé la soluzione.
Tra il 1789 e il 1791, il Congresso approvò dieci articoli aggiuntivi alla neonata Costituzione degli
Stati Uniti D'
America, volti a tutelare e ribadire i diritti individuali dei cittadini.
Proprio il primo, dei dieci emendamenti, recita così:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.
E'molto probabile che lo stesso pubblico, WKH JUHDW EHDVW, incominci a non essere più così ben
disposto ad accettare passivamente spazzatura dalla stampa. Sono sempre le parole di Jensen:
,W¶V VWLOO QRW WRR ODWH WR JHW RII WKH -)1 GLHW EHIRUH ZHEHFRPH IDWDOO\ DGGLFWHG WR LW 7R GR WKLV ZH DOO KDYH WR
SDUWLFLSDWH&RUSRUDWHOHYHO PHGLDKHDGVVKRXOGVWDUWWRHDUQWKHLUXQLTXH)LUVW$PHQGPHQWSULYLOHJHV. Editors
should rethink their news judgment. Journalists should persevere in going after the hard stories. Professors of
journalism should emphasize ethics and critical analysis and educate more muckrakers and fewer buckrakers. 7KH
MXGLFLDOV\VWHPVKRXOGGHIHQGWKHIUHHGRPRIWKHSUHVVSURYLVLRQRIWKH)LUVW$PHQGPHQWZLWKPRUHYLJRU.
One ombudsman once said «ZHXQGHUHVWLPDWHWKHLQWHOOLJHQFHRIRXUUHDGHUVDQGOLVWHQHUV
Really. The public should show the media that it’ s more concerned with the high crimes and misdemeanors of its
political and corporate leaders than with television fantasies and Britney Spears’ s belly button.
Una citazione di Joseph Pulitzer, contestualizzata quanto basta, chiude il saggio che Carl Jensen
dedica al mondo dell’informazione frivola. Il professore è ironico, ma non troppo:
-RVHSK3XOLW]HU, the renowned American journalist and publisher, RQFHVDLG:HDUHDGHPRFUDF\DQGWKHUHLVRQO\
RQHZD\WRJHWDGHPRFUDF\RQLWVIHHWLQWKHPDWWHURILWVLQGLYLGXDOLWVVRFLDOLWVPXQLFLSDOLWVVWDWHLWVQDWLRQDO
FRQGXFWDQGWKDWLVE\NHHSLQJWKHSXEOLFLQIRUPHGDERXWZKDWLVJRLQJRQ Joseph Pulitzer, whose will provided
for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes, GLGQRWKDYH%ULWQH\6SHDUVRUSDQGDVRUWKHIROORZLQJ-)1VWRULHVRI
LQPLQGZKHQKHVDLGWKDW
19
NORTH BAY PROGRESSIVE, L'
'
«ALTER EGO» di PROJECT CENSORED
Vorrei concludere questa tesina con un breve cenno a quello che potrebbe essere considerato come
un alter ego del progetto fondato da Jensen, perchè in questo modo avrò la possibilità di collocare
nel giusto contesto l'
articolo realizzato da Alessandra Diana sui fatti relativi al G8 di Genova, e che
quindi riguarda in prima persona il nostro paese.
All'
interno della Sonoma State University esiste un'
iniziativa parallela a Project Censored: si tratta
di un giornale settimanale, chiamato 1RUWK ED\ 3URJUHVVLYH nel quale sono riportati, oltre che a
notizie correnti evitate dalla stampa per motivi vari, gli argomenti che non sono riusciti ad apparire
nel libro annuale. «Nbp non è una semplice rassegna stampa - ha spiegato Alessandra Diana -. Gran
parte della pubblicazione è infatti frutto di un lavoro giornalistico svolto in prima persona dagli
studenti, che seguono una procedura simile, anche se più breve, a quella attuata nel Project
ufficiale».
Proprio sul settimanale è stato pubblicato l'
articolo che la studentessa italiana ha scritto in proposito
alle azioni delle forze dell'
ordine nei confronti dei media indipendenti legati alle associazioni No
Global. Diversi siti internet furono oscurati e molto materiale, come avvenne alla scuola Diaz,
venne sequestrato anche nei mesi successivi al G8.
«Peter Phillips, che conosce personalmente parecchi ragazzi di Indymedia Italia, mi chiese di
scrivere un articolo sull'
accaduto - ha continuato Alessandra -. Non tanto sui fatti di Genova, quanto
su ciò che avvenne dopo, nei confronti delle fonti d'
informazione legate al popolo di Seattle. Il
professore stesso mi fornì i recapiti, e io contattai le associazioni chiedendo testimonianze
sull'
accaduto: molti di coloro che risposero erano presenti a Genova, e alla Diaz, altri hanno
assistito ai raid dei carabinieri nelle sedi di giornali e organizzazioni. Io confrontai le fonti e scrissi
un testo. Inizialmente l'
idea di Phillips era di inserire l'
argomento nel book, ma poi ha preferito
pubblicarlo sul settimanale. Suppongo che il motivo della scelta sia legato al fatto che la notizia
venne riportata un po'da tutti i giornali, e quindi sarebbe stato difficile analizzare e verificare, come
vuole l'
iter del progetto, tutti gli articoli apparsi negli Stati Uniti».
20
Ecco l’articolo, apparso su 1RUWK%D\3URJUHVVLYH nell’aprile 2002:
,WDOLDQ3ROLFH5DLG,QGHSHQGHQW0HGLD&HQWHUV
(Italy) On February 20, the Carabinieri (paramilitary police) raided the independent media sites at the Social Center
Gabrio in Turin, Cecco Rivolta in Florence, the Teatro Polivalente Occupato in Bologna, and in the Cobas (union) site
in Taranto. The searches were simultaneously executed at 7 am, and involved hundreds of riot-clad Carabinieri and
dozens of armored vechiles. Italian judges Andrea Canciani and Anna Canepa ordered a search to find audio and video
materials that Indymedia Italy gathered during the G8 demonstrations in Genoa last July. The judges proceeded with the
searches of these sites because they believed them to be headquarters of Indymedia Italy. Arturo Di Corinto
spokesperson with Indymedia Italy stated, “ the government has taken action that is repressive of independent media in
Italy. They are actually hunting for government dissenters. People were brutalized in the searches and equipment
destroy and taken.” Corinto went to explain that Indymedia doesn’ t have headquarters because it is a web-based news
site to which anyone can post stories. Indymedia Italy is linked to 75 other Indymedia sites around the world. Indymedia
was founded during the Seattle anti-globalization demonstrations and operates through thousands of people who publish
their own news stories on interconnected websites. Indymedia Italy sponsors internet mailing lists, chat-rooms and open
publishing. It is a daily effort where hundreds of media professionals (video makers, photographers, and journalists)
collaborate in order to provide truthful grassroots news stories In Turin the Carabinieri confiscated videos that were
openly available on their website including images that had even been shown on national television. In Taranto the
Carabinieri were not able to able to find anything related to Indymedia Italy. In Florence they confiscated a lot of videos
which were also accessible to the public. In Bologna they took videos, computers, and editing machines, all of which
were used to link with the Indymedia website. Bologna was the center of Indymedia Italy’ s archives which were
destroyed in the raid. Indymedia activists in Italy feel that this is a government attack on freedom of information. The
Italian government had perpetrated a series of repressive and threatening actions against independent media in Italy. In
Genoa last July, the Indymedia site located in the Diaz-Pertini school was completely destroyed and dozens of activist
brutally beaten. A massive political response “ Reclaim Your Media” is scheduled March 16 in Rome.
Quello che è successo ai media indipendenti dopo il G8 è l'
ennesimo esempio di come la strada
verso una normalizzazione degli equilibri all'
interno del sistema - giornale sia difficoltosa, e piena
di battaglie da combattere.
Oggi, realtà come North Bay Progressive e Project Censored sono attive in tutto il mondo, ed è
sempre maggiore il numero di persone che vi fa riferimento. Questo è chiaramente un buon segnale,
perché indica come WKHJUHDWEHDVWsi stia svegliando, e come abbia chiaramente in mente che, se
davvero è un sistema gerarchico a regolare i media, allora sia una forza soltanto quella meritevole
d'
occupare la posizione suprema: la libertà.
21
BIBLIOGRAFIA
-
Alberto Cavallari, "La fabbrica del presente. Lezioni d’informazione pubblica", Feltrinelli 1990
-
Carlo Barbieri, "Il giornalismo, dalle origini ai giorni nostri", Centro Documentazione
Giornalistica, 1982
-
Peter Phillips and group "Censored 2003, media democracy in action", Seven stories press, 2003
-
"Internazionale", numero 453
-
"l’Eco di Bergamo", 3 ottobre 2002
-
www.monitor.net
-
www.projectcensored.org
-
www.projectcensored.org/newsabuse.htm
-
www.pon.net
-
www.northbayprogressive.org
-
www.sonoma.edu/pubs/release/2002/265.html
-
www.metroactive.com
-
www.flipside.com
-
www.sfbg.com
-
www.indiamonitor.com
-
www.guardian.uk
-
www.globalresearch.ca
-
www.sfgate.com
-
www.alternet.org
-
www.alternet.org
-
www.gsreport.com
-
www.mediachannel.org
-
www.towardfreedom.com
-
www.indymedia.org
22
INDICE
-
Se il quarto potere nasconde le notizie scomode - SDJ
Peter Phillips - SDJ
La realizzazione del book - SDJ
Censored 2003, media democracy in action - SDJ
-
Junk Food News - SDJ
-
North Bay Progressive, l'
«Alter ego» di Project censored -SDJ
-
Bibliografia - SDJ
-
Indice pag. 22
23
APPENDICE
Press release, Best Censored 2003
24
Press Release
Most Censored News Stories of 2001-2002
August 28, 2002
Sonoma State University
Project Censored
Contact: Peter Phillips or Trish Boreta
707-664-2500
7RS0RVW&HQVRUHG1HZV6WRULHV
)&&0RYHV7R3ULYDWL]H$LUZDYHV
Sources:
London Guardian, April 28, 20001 and Media File Autumn 2001 volume 20, #4
Title: "Global Media Giants Lobby to Privatize Entire Broadcast System"
Author: Jeremy Rifkin
Mother Jones, Sept/October 2001
Title: "Losing Signal"
Author: Brendan l. Koerner - [email protected]
Media File, May/June 2001
Title: "Legal Project to Challenge Media Monopoly"
Author: Dorothy Kidd - [email protected]
For almost 70 years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
administered and regulated the broadcast spectrum as an electronic
"commons" on behalf of the American people. The FCC issues licenses to
broadcasters that allow them, for a fee, to use, but not own, one or more
specific radio or TV frequencies. Thus, the public has retained the ability
to regulate, as well as influence, access to broadcast communications.
Several years ago, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, in their report
"The Telecom Revolution: An American Opportunity," recommended a complete
privatization of the radio frequencies, whereby broadcasters with existing
licenses would eventually gain complete ownership of their respective
frequencies. They could thereafter develop them in markets of their
choosing, or sell and trade them to other companies. The few non-allocated
bands of the radio frequency spectrum would be sold off, as electronic real
estate, to the highest bidders. With nothing then to regulate, the FCC
would eventually be abolished. The reasoning behind this radical plan was
that government control of the airwaves has led to inefficiencies. In
private hands, the frequencies would be exchanged in the marketplace, and
the forces of free-market supply and demand would foster the most creative
(and, of course, most profitable) use of these electronic "properties."
This privatization proposal was considered too ambitious by the Clinton
administration. However, in February 2001, within months after a more
"pro-business" president took office, 37 leading US economists requested,
25
in a joint letter, that the FCC allow broadcasters to lease, in secondary
markets, the frequencies they currently use under their FCC license. Their
thinking was that with this groundwork laid, full national privatization
would follow, and eventually nations would be encouraged to sell off their
frequencies to global media enterprises.
Michael K. Powell, FCC Chairman, and son of Secretary of State Colin
Powell, in a recent speech compared the FCC to the Grinch, a kind of
regulatory spoilsport that could impede what he termed a historic
transformation akin to the opening of the West. "The oppressor here is
regulation," he declared. In April 2001, Powell dismissed the FCC’s
historic mandate to evaluate corporate actions based on the public
interest. That standard, he said, "is about as empty a vessel as you can
accord a regulatory agency." In other comments, Powell has signaled what
kind of philosophy he prefers to the outdated concept of public interest.
During his first visit to Capitol Hill as chairman, Powell referred to
corporations simply as "our clients."
Challenges to this proposed privatization of airways have emerged from a
number of sources. One group, the Democratic Media Legal Project (DMLP) in
San Francisco, argues that even the existing commercial media system, aided
by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is unconstitutional because it
limits diversity of viewpoints, omits or misrepresents most social,
political, and cultural segments, and is unaccountable to the public.
Therefore, explains DMLP, advertising-based media and the 1996 Act, which
encourages mergers and cross-ownership of media outlets to the exclusion of
the vast majority of people, have deprived the people of their right to
self-governance- as self governance can occur only when we have the
unimpeded and uncensored flow of opinion and reporting that are requisite
for an informed democracy.
The course of wireless broadcasting is approaching an unprecedented and
critical crossroad. The path taken by the United States, and by the other
industrialized nations that may follow our lead, will profoundly influence
the ability of the citizenry of each country to democratically control the
media.
Faculty evaluator: Scott Gordon, Student Researcher: Laura Huntington
1HZ7UDGH7UHDW\6HHNVWR3ULYDWL]H*OREDO6RFLDO6HUYLFHV
Source: The Ecologist, February, 2001
Title: The Last Frontier
Author: Maude Barlow - [email protected]
A global trade agreement now being negotiated will seek to privatize nearly
every government-provided public service and allow transnational
corporations to run them for profit.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a proposed
free-trade agreement that will attempt to liberalize/dismantle barriers
that protect government provided social services. These are social services
bestowed by the government in the name of public welfare. The GATS was
established in 1994, at the conclusion of the "Uruguay Round" of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In 1995, the GATS agreement
was adopted by the newly created World Trade Organization (WTO).
26
Corporations plan to use the GATS agreement to profit from the
privatization of educational systems, health care systems, child care,
energy and municipal water services, postal services, libraries, museums,
and public transportation. If the GATS agreement is finalized, it will lock
in a privatized, for-profit model for the global economy. GATS/WTO would
make it illegal for a government with privatized services to ever return to
a publicly owned, non-profit model. Any government that disobeys these WTO
rulings will face sanctions. What used to be areas of common heritage like
seed banks, air and water supplies, health care and education will be
commodified, privatized, and sold to the highest bidder on the open market.
People who cannot afford these privatized services will be left out.
Services are the fastest growing sector of international trade. If GATS is
implemented, corporations will reap windfall profits. Health care,
education, and water services are the most potentially lucrative. Global
expenditures on water services exceed $1 trillion each year, on education
they exceed $2 trillion, and on health care they’re over $3.5 trillion.
The WTO has hired a private company called the Global Division for
Transnational Education. This company plans to document policies that
"discriminate against foreign education providers." The results of this
’study’ will be used to pressure countries with public education systems to
relinquish them to the global privatized marketplace.
The futures of accountability for public services, and of sovereign law are
at stake with the GATS decision. Foreign corporations will have the right
to establish themselves in any GATS/WTO-controlled country and compete
against non-profit or government institutions, such as schools and
hospitals, for public funds.
The current round of GATS negotiations has identified three main priorities
for future free-trade principles. First, GATS officials are pushing for
"National Treatment" to be applied across the board. "National Treatment"
would forbid governments from favoring their domestic companies over
foreign-based companies. This idea already applies to certain services, but
GATS will enforce it to all services. This will create an expansion of
mega-corporate access to domestic markets and further diminish democratic
accountability. The economically dominant western countries would like to
make it illegal for "developing" countries to reverse this exclusive access
to their markets.
Second, GATS officials are seeking to place restrictions on domestic
regulations. This would limit a government’s ability to enact
environmental, health, and other regulations and laws that hinder
"free-trade." The government would be required to demonstrate that its laws
and regulations were necessary to achieve a WTO-sanctioned objective, and
that no other commercially friendly alternative was available.
Third, negotiators are attempting to develop the expansion of "Commercial
Presence" rules. These rules allow an investor in one GATS-controlled
country to establish a presence in any other GATS country. The investor
will not only be allowed to compete against private suppliers for business,
but will also be allowed to compete against publicly funded institutions
and services for public funds.
This potential expansion of GATS/WTO authority into the day-to-day
business of governments will make it nearly impossible for citizens to
exercise democratic control over the future of traditionally public
27
services. One American trade official summed up the GATS/WTO process by
saying, "Basically it won’t stop until foreigners finally start to think
like Americans, act like Americans, and most of all shop like Americans."
Faculty evaluator: John Kramer, Student researchers: Chris Salvano, Adria
Cooper
International media coverage: Toronto Star, 3/3/02, The Herald (Glasgow)
2/27/02, The Hindu, 11/17,01 The Weekend Australian, 8/25/01, The Gazette
(Montreal) 6/15/01 The Financial Times (London)
8QLWHG6WDWHV
3ROLFLHVLQ&RORPELD6XSSRUW0DVV0XUGHU
Sources:
Counter Punch. July 1-15, 2001
Title: "Blueprints for the Colombian War"
Author: Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair - [email protected]
Asheville Global Report, October 4, 2001
Title: "Colombian Army and Police Still Working With Paramilitaries"
Author: Jim Lobe
Steelabor, May/June 2001
Title: "Colombian Trade Unionists Need U.S. Help"
Authors: Dan Kovalik and Gerald Dickey - [email protected]
Rachel’s Environment & Health News, December 7, 2000
Title: "Echoes of Vietnam"
Author: Rachel Massey - [email protected]
Over the past two years, Colombia has been Washington’s third largest
recipient of foreign aid, behind only Israel and Egypt. In July of 2000,
the U.S. Congress approved a $1.3 billion war package for Colombia to
support President Pastrana’s "Plan Colombia." Plan Colombia is a $7.5
billion counter-narcotics initiative. In addition to this financial
support, the US also trains the Colombian military.
Colombia’s annual murder rate is 30,000. It is reported that around 19,000
of these murders are linked to illegal right-wing paramilitary forces. Many
leaders of these paramilitary groups were once officers in the Colombian
military, trained at the U.S. Military run School of the Americas.
According to the Human Rights Watch Report, a 120-page report titled "The
’Sixth Division’: Military-Paramilitary Ties and US Policy in Colombia,"
Colombian armed forces and police continue to work closely with right-wing
paramilitary groups. The government of President Pastrana and the US
administration have played down evidence of this cooperation. Jim Lobe says
that Human Rights Watch holds the Pastrana administration responsible for
the current, violent situation because of its dramatic and costly failure
to take prompt, effective control of security forces, break their
persistent ties to paramilitary groups, and ensure respect for human rights.
Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair contend that the war in Colombia
isn’t about drugs. It’s about the annihilation of popular uprisings by
Indian peasants fending off the ravages of oil companies, cattle barons and
mining firms. It is a counter-insurgency war, designed to clear the way for
28
American corporations to set up shop in Colombia.
Cockburn and St. Clair examined two Defense Department commissioned
reports, the RAND Report and a paper written by Gabriel Marcella, titled
"Plan Colombia: the Strategic and Operational Imperatives." Both reports
recommend that the US step up its military involvement in Colombia. In
addition, the reports make several admissions about the paramilitaries and
their links to the drug trade, regarding human rights abuses by the
US-trained Colombian military, and about the irrationality of crop
fumigation.
Throughout these past two years, Colombian citizens have been the
victims of human rights atrocities committed by the US-trained Colombian
military and linked paramilitaries. Trade unionists and human rights
activists face murder, torture, and harassment. It is reported that Latin
America remains the most dangerous place in the world for trade unionists.
Since 1986, some 4,000 trade unionists have been murdered in Colombia. In
2000 alone, more trade unionists were killed in Colombia than in the whole
world in 1999.
Another problem resulting from the Colombian "drug war" has been
the health consequences of the US-sponsored aerial fumigation. Since
January 2001, Colombian aircraft have been spraying toxic herbicides over
Colombian fields in order to kill opium poppy and coca plants. These
sprayings are killing food crops that indigenous Colombians depend on for
survival, as well as harming their health. The sprayings have killed fish,
livestock, and have contaminated water supplies.
The US provides slightly over 1 billion dollars of military aid for
what is known as "Plan Colombia," yet it is more a war against citizens and
those who are fighting for social justice. US aid is not improving
conditions for the people of Colombia, but rather supporting the government
and right-wing paramilitary groups. According to an American member of the
international steelworker delegation, Jesse Isbell, who recently visited
Columbia, "The US says one thing to the American public when in reality it
is [doing] something totally different. Our government portrays this as a
drug war against cocaine but all we are doing is keeping an ineffective
government in power."
Faculty Evaluators: Jorge Porras, Fred Fletcher, , Student Researchers:
Lauren Renison, Adam Cimino, Erik Wagle, Gabrielle Mitchell
%XVK$GPLQLVWUDWLRQ+DPSHUHG)%,,QYHVWLJDWLRQLQWR%LQ/DGHQ)DPLO\
%HIRUH
Sources:
Pulse, 1/16/02
Title: "French book indicts Bush Administration"
Author: Amanda Luker - [email protected]
Times Of India, November 8, 2001
Title: "Bush took FBI agents off Bin Laden family trail"
Author: Rashmee Z. Ahmed
The Guardian (London) In cooperation with BBC television News Night
November 7, 2001
29
Title: "FBI and US spy agents say Bush spiked bin Laden probes before 11
September"
Author: Greg Palast and David Pallister - [email protected] and
[email protected]
A French book Bin Laden, la verite interdite (Bin Laden, the forbidden
truth) claims that the Bush Administration halted investigations into
terrorist activities related to the bin Laden family and began planning for
a war against Afghanistan before 9-11.
The authors, Jean-Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie, are French
intelligence analysts. Dasquie, an investigative reporter, publishes
Intelligence Online, which is a respected newsletter on economics and
diplomacy. Brisard worked for French secret services and in 1997 wrote a
report on the Al Qaeda network.
In 1996, high-placed intelligence sources in Washington told the Guardian,
"There were always constraints on investigating the Saudis." The authors
allege that under the influence of US oil companies, George W. Bush and his
administration initially halted investigations into terrorism, while
bargaining with the Taliban to deliver Osama bin Laden in exchange for
economic aid and political recognition. The book goes on to reveal that
former FBI deputy director John O’Neill resigned in July of 2001 in protest
over the obstruction of terrorist investigations. According to O’Neill,
"The main obstacles to investigating Islamic terrorism were US oil
corporate interests and the role played by Saudi Arabia in it." The
restrictions were said to have worsened after the Bush administration took
over. Intelligence agencies were told to "back off" from investigations
involving other members of the bin Laden family, the Saudi royals, and
possible Saudi links to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Pakistan.
John O’Neil died on 9/11 in the World Trade Center.
An FBI file coded 199, which means a case involving national security,
records that Abdullah bin Laden, who lived in Washington, originally had a
file opened on him "because of his relationship with the Saudi-funded World
Assembly of Muslim Youth - a suspected terrorist organization." The BBC
reiterated a well-known claim, made by one of George W. Bush’s former
business partners, that Bush made his first million dollars 20 years ago
from a company financed by Osama’s elder brother, Salem. It has also been
revealed that both the Bushs and the bin Ladens had lucrative stakes in the
Carlyle Group, a private investment firm that has grown to be one of the
largest investors in US defense and communications contracts.
Brisard and Dasquie contend that the government’s main objective in
Afghanistan was to unite the Taliban regime in order to gain access to the
oil and gas reserves in Central Asia. Brisard and Dasquie report that the
Bush government began negotiations with the Taliban directly after coming
into power and representatives met several times in Washington, Islamabad,
and Berlin.
There were also claims that the last meeting between the United States and
Taliban representatives took place only five weeks before the attacks in
New York and Washington.
Long before the September 11th attacks, the United States had decided to
invade Afghanistan in the interest of oil. In February of 1998, at the
hearing before a sub-group of the Committee on International Relations,
30
Congress discussed ways to deal with Afghanistan to make way for an oil
pipeline. Jane’s Defense News reported in March 2001 that an invasion of
Afghanistan was being planned.
Times of India reported that in June of 2001, the US Government told India
that there would be an invasion of Afghanistan in October of that year. By
July of 2001 George Arney, with the BBC, also reported the planned invasion.
Faculty evaluator: Catherine Nelson, Student researchers: Donald Yoon,
David Immel
Corporate media coverage: L.A. Times, 1/13/02 Part A-1, page 11
86,QWHQWLRQDOO\'HVWUR\HG,UDT
V:DWHU6\VWHP
Sources:
The Progressive, September 2001
Title: "The Secret Behind the Sanctions: How the U.S. Intentionally
Destroyed Iraq’s Water Supply"
Author: Thomas J. Nagy - [email protected]
www.progressive.org
During the Gulf War the United States deliberately bombed Iraq’s water
system. After the war, the U.S. pushed sanctions to prevent importation of
necessary supplies for water purification. These actions resulted in the
deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians many of whom were young
children. Documents have been obtained from the Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA), which prove that the Pentagon was fully aware of the mortal impacts
on civilians in Iraq and was actually monitoring the degradation of Iraq’s
water supply. The destruction of civilian infrastructures necessary for
health and welfare is a direct violation of the Geneva Convention.
After the Gulf War, the United Nations applied sanctions against Iraq,
which denied the importation of specialized equipment and chemicals, such
as chlorine for purification of water. There are six documents that have
been partially declassified and can be found on the Pentagon’s web site at
www.gulflink.osd.mil. These documents include information that prove that
the United States was fully aware of the costs to civilians, especially
children, by upholding the sanctions against purification of Iraq’s water
supply.
The primary document is dated January 22, 1991 and is titled, "Iraq Water
Treatment Vulnerabilities." This document predicts what will take place
when Iraq can no longer import the vital commodities to cleanse their water
supply. It states that epidemics and disease outbreaks may occur because of
pollutants and bacteria that exist in unpurified water. The document
acknowledges the fact that without purified drinking water, the
manufacturing of food and medicine will also be affected. The possibilities
of Iraqis obtaining clean water, despite sanctions, along with a timetable
describing the degradation of Iraq’s water supply was also addressed.
The remaining five documents from the DIA confirm the Pentagon’s monitoring
of the situation in Iraq. In more than one document, discussion of the
likely outbreaks of diseases and how they affect "particularly children" is
discussed in great detail. The final document titled, "Iraq: Assessment of
Current Health Threats and Capabilities," is dated, November 15, 1991, and
discusses the development of a counter-propaganda strategy that would blame
31
Saddam Hussein for the lack of safe water in Iraq.
The United States’ insistence on using this type of sanction against Iraq
is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention was
created in 1979 to protect the victims of international armed conflict. It
states, "It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless,
objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population such as
foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installation and supplies, and
irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their
sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party,
whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause
them to move away, or for any other motive." The United States, for nearly
a decade, has "destroyed, removed, or rendered useless" Iraq’s "drinking
water installations and supplies."
Although two Democratic Representatives, Cynthia McKinney from Georgia and
Tony Hall from Ohio, have spoken out about the degradation of Iraq’s water
supply and its civilian targets, no acknowledgment of violations has been
made. The U.S. policy of destroying the water treatment system of Iraq and
preventing its re-establishment has been pursued for more than a decade.
The United Nations estimates that more than 500,000 Iraqi children have
died as a result of sanctions and that unclean water is a major contributor
to these deaths.
Faculty evaluator: Rick Luttmann, Student researchers: Adria Cooper, Erik
Wagle, Adam Cimino, Chris Salvano
86*RYHUQPHQW3XVKLQJ1XFOHDU5HYLYDO
Sources:
Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, July/August 2001
Title: "The New-Nuke Chorus Tunes Up"
Author: Stephen I. Schwartz - [email protected]
The US Government is blazing a trail of nuclear weapon revival leading to
global nuclear dominance. A nuke-revival group, supported by people like
Stephen Younger, Associate Director for Nuclear Weapons at Los Alamos,
proposes a "mini-nuke" capable of burrowing into underground weapon
supplies and unleashing a small, but contained nuclear explosion. This
weapons advocacy group is comprised of nuclear scientists, Department of
Energy (DoE) officials, right wing analysts, former government officials,
and a congressionally appointed over-sight panel. The group wants to ensure
that the U.S. continues to develop nuclear capacity into the next half
century.
Achieving this goal of nuclear dominance will take far more than just
refurbishing existing weapons and developing new ones. A decade long
effort, that would cost in the $8 billion range, would be needed just to
bring old production sites up to standard. Billions more would be needed to
produce and maintain a new generation of nuclear weapons. This plan has not
been presented to the public for their consideration or approval.
Part of the plan includes the building of "mini-nukes," which would
have a highly accurate ability to penetrate underground stockpiles of
weapons and command centers. The recent interest in such weapons is based
on two premises. First, the belief that only nuclear weapons can destroy
32
these underground networks, so the "mini-nuke" would deter other countries
from using these underground systems. Second, these new bombs would give
government the option to launch a nuclear strike to take out a small target
while delivering minimal civilian casualties. It is believed that these
bombs could specifically target underground headquarters or weapon
stockpiles in Korea, Iraq, or Iran.
Princeton theoretical physicist Robert W. Nelson has studied the
question for the Federation of American Scientists. Nelson concluded, "No
earth-burrowing missile can penetrate deep enough into the earth to contain
an explosion with a nuclear yield even as small as 1 percent of the
15-kiloton Hiroshima weapon. The explosion simply blows out a massive
crater of radioactive dirt, which rains down on the local region with an
especially intense and deadly fallout." Nelson used data from the
Plowshares program of the 1960s and from the 828 underground nuclear tests
conducted in Nevada. The two sources show that full containment of a
5-kiloton explosion is only possible at 650 feet or more, while a 1-kiloton
explosion must take place at least 450 feet into the earth. These figures
are taken at optimum conditions, where weapons are placed in a specially
sealed shaft in a well understood geological environment. The "mini-nukes"
will be expected to penetrate into deeply hardened targets in unyielding
conditions. Nelson also concludes that a 10-foot missile could only be
expected to penetrate 100 feet into concrete and steel, a depth far too
shallow to contain even a very small explosion.
The Panel to Assess the Reliability, Safety, and Security of the
United States Nuclear Stockpile has recommended spending $4 billion to $6
billion over the next decade to restore the production capabilities of
plutonium pit plants in the U.S. The DoE is currently spending $147 million
on pit production at Los Alamos this year and is requesting $218 million
for 2002. A renovated Los Alamos will be capable of producing up to 20 pits
a year by 2007. Last year the DoE received $2 million to design a new pit
plant capable of producing 450 cores of plutonium a year. This would
generate approximately half the amount of plutonium produced during the
latter period of the Cold War. The facilities at some of these nuclear
production plants are in drastic states of disrepair.
Only 26 percent of the weapons complex buildings are in excellent or good
condition. One laboratory building at Los Alamos wraps pipes carrying
radioactive waste in plastic bags to prevent leakage. The roofs at other
facilities are allowing rainwater to seep into the rooms where nuclear
weapons are inspected and repaired.
Faculty Evaluator: Sasha Von Meier, Student Researcher: Erik Wagle
Corporate News Coverage: Los Angeles Times, March 17, 2002. USA Today,
March 18, 2002.
&RUSRUDWLRQV3URPRWH+020RGHOIRU6FKRRO'LVWULFWV
Sources:
Multi-National Monitor, January/February 2002
Title: "Business Goes to School: The For-Profit Corporate Drive to Run
Public Schools"
Author: Barbara Miner - [email protected]
33
The Progressive Populist, November 15, 2000
Title: "Dunces of Public Education Reform"
Author: Frosty Troy - [email protected]
North Coast Xpress, Winter 2000
Title: "Corporate-Sponsored Tests Aim to Standardize Our Kids"
Author: Dennis Fox - [email protected]
In These Times, June 2001
Title: "Testing, Testing: The Miseducation of George W. Bush"
Author: Linda Lutton
For decades, public schools have purchased innumerable products and
services from private companies-from text books to bus transportation.
Within the last decade, however, privatization has taken on a whole new
meaning. Proponents of privatized education are now interested in taking
over entire school districts. "Education today, like healthcare 30 years
ago, is a vast, highly localized industry ripe for change," says Mary
Tanner, managing director of Lehman Brothers, "The emergence of HMOs and
hospital management companies created enormous opportunities for investors.
We believe the same pattern will occur in education." So while the aptly
named Educational Management Organizations (EMO’s) are being promoted as
the new answer to impoverished school districts and dilapidated classrooms,
the real emphasis is on investment returns rather than student welfare and
educational development.
According to some analysts, Bush’s proposal for national standardized
testing is helping to pave the way for these EMO’s. Bush wants yearly
standardized testing in reading and math for every student in the country
between the third and eighth grades. "School districts and states that do
well will be rewarded," Bush states in his education agenda, No Child Left
Behind, "Failure will be sanctioned." The effect of Bush’s testing plan
will be nothing less than a total reconstruction of curriculum and
instruction across the country. Perversely, schools with already limited
resources, serving poor and minority communities, will be those under the
greatest pressure to boost scores or face loss of funding.
Additionally, standardized testing funnels public dollars directly to
non-public schools, including religious schools, through taxpayer-supported
vouchers. School vouchers, proposed by Bush in his education plan to
increase federal education spending, will reward schools that do well on
annual standardized tests. Vouchers shunt kids out of the public schools
system and into private for-profit institutions. Since only public school
students take the standardized tests, kids whose parents can afford private
schools don’t have to agonize year after year about potential failure.
Standardized testing hits immigrant students especially hard. Bush wants to
freeze funding in 2002, despite surging enrollment of students speaking
limited English. Angelo Amador, a national policy analyst for the Mexican
American Legal Defense and Education Fund, says, "With the pulling of
bilingual education funding, states with high-stakes testing are pushing
low-performing Latino students into special education classes or out of
school altogether in an effort to keep their test scores high."
Critics charge that standardization’s real goal is not to improve public
34
education but to disparage it while building support for privatized,
union-free alternatives. Proponents of corporate-run education claim that,
by cutting the "fat" out of the system, they can improve student
achievement with the same amount of money, and still turn a profit
(Ignoring the fact that the U.S. is ranked ninth globally in terms of money
spent on education). The reality is that, though most EMO’s have yet to
show investors a profit, they generally cut teacher salaries, eliminate
remedial, special, and bilingual education programs (mandated for public
schools), and consistently perform at or below the level of surrounding
schools in test scores.
Privatization opponents say that public education should serve and be run
by the public, especially teachers and parents, as opposed to shareholders
who run the for-profit companies.
Faculty Evaluators: Perry Marker, Tom Ormond, and Elaine Sundberg
Student Researchers: Lauren Fox, Derek Fieldsoe, Joshua Travers
1$)7$'HVWUR\V)DUPLQJ&RPPXQLWLHVLQ86DQG$EURDG
Sources:
Fellowship of Reconciliation, Dec. 2000/Jan. 2001
Title: NAFTA’s devastating effects are clear in Mexico, Haiti
Author: Anita Martin
The Hightower Lowdown, September 2001
Title: NAFTA gives the shafta to North America’s farmers
Author: Jim Hightower - [email protected]
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) are responsible for the impoverishment of and loss of
many small farms in Mexico and Haiti. NAFTA is also causing the economic
destruction of rural farming communities in the United States and Canada.
The resulting loss of rural employment has created a landslide of
socio-economic and environmental consequences that are worsening with the
continued dismantling and deregulation of trade barriers.
When NAFTA came before Congress in 1993, US farmers were told that the
agreement would open the borders of Mexico and Canada, enabling them to
sell their superior products and achieve previously unknown prosperity.
Corporations who operate throughout the Americas, such as Tyson and
Cargill, have since used the farming surplus to drive down costs, pitting
farmers against each other and prohibiting countries from taking protective
actions. These same corporations have entered into massive farming ventures
outside the U.S. and use NAFTA to import cheaper agricultural products back
into this country, further undermining the small farmers in the U.S. Since
the enactment of NAFTA, 80% of foodstuffs coming into the U.S. are products
that displace crops raised here at home. NAFTA has allowed multinational
mega-corporations to increase production in Mexico, where they can profit
from much cheaper labor, as well as freely use chemicals and pesticides
banned in the U.S.
In both Mexico and Haiti, NAFTA policies have caused an exodus from rural
areas forcing people to live in urban slums and accept low paid sweatshop
labor. Farmers in Mexico, unable to compete with the large-scale
35
importation and chemical-intensive mass production of U.S. agricultural
corporations, are swimming in a corn surplus that has swelled approximately
450% since NAFTA’s implementation. Haiti’s deregulation of trade with the
U.S. has destroyed the island’s rice industry in a similar manner. Urban
slums, engorged with rural economic refugees, are contributing to the
breakdown of cultural traditions and public authority, making the growing
masses increasingly ungovernable.
The Mexican government clashes violently with any organized protest of
NAFTA. Dissent in Chiapas and in Central Mexico has lead to the reported
arrests, injuries, and deaths of dozens of activists. Community leaders
like Minister Lucius Walker, executive of the Interreligious Foundation for
Community Organization, state that, "The biggest challenge facing all of us
in this new millennium is to build a citizens’ movement to counter the
corporate captivity of the Americas."
The1993 NAFTA agreement desolated small farming communities in the U.S. and
in Mexico and Haiti. With the scheduled 2009 lift on tariffs and import
restrictions, as well as Bush’s proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA) adding 31 more countries to the NAFTA agreement, many additional
farming communities are in danger.
Faculty Evaluators: Tony White, Al Wahrhaftig
Student researchers: Adam Cimino, Erik Wagle, Alessandra Diana
86)DFHV1DWLRQDO+RXVLQJ&ULVLV
Source:
In These Times, November 2000
Title: "There’s No Place Like Home"
Author: Randy Shaw - [email protected]
The national housing crisis affects nearly 6 million American families and
is growing worse. Over 1.5 million low-cost housing units have recently
been lost, and millions of children are growing up in housing that is
substandard, unaffordable and dangerous.
A new crisis in affordable housing is spreading across America. What was
once a problem relegated to low income families along the east and west
coasts, is now affecting the middle-class all across the country.
Middle-class working Americans are having just as much trouble finding
affordable housing as low-income families did ten years ago.
In San Francisco, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
subsidizing housing for public school teachers. California business groups
complain that the State’s housing shortage hinders their ability to attract
skilled workers, and chambers of commerce link lack of affordable housing
to a resultant slowdown in economic growth.
Julie Daniels earns $28,000 a year working full time as a certified nursing
assistant for Stamford, Connecticut. A member of local 1199, Daniels and
her three children have been unable to obtain affordable housing within
traveling distance of her job. The family’s only available housing option
has been a homeless shelter, and the prospects that Daniels will obtain
safe and affordable housing are unlikely.
Still, politicians refuse to add federal funded housing to the U.S. budget.
Low-cost housing programs are slowly being drained of funding. More than
36
100,000 federally subsidized units have been converted to market-rate
housing in the past three years. While the $5 billion Federal Housing
Administration surplus is tied up in Washington, neither major political
party seems responsive to the current housing crisis. Neither party is
addressing issues of living wage, adequate health care, or affordable
housing.
Homelessness has become the result for many families across the nation. The
economic slowdown, the welfare reform of 1996, and the events of September
11 are pushing hard working Americans into the street. In New York alone it
is estimated that 30,000 people are living in shelters, and many thousands
more live on the street.
In Chicago, over 20,000 units of public housing units have been removed
from service and some 50,000 people now reside in the streets.
In an era when there is only one apartment for every six potential renters
in this country, Congress has taken no action to address this problem.
Corporate media has only covered this issue locally and few corporate media
reports have recognized this as a national crisis.
Faculty Evaluator: Susan Garfin, Student Researcher: Eduardo Barragan,
Catherine Jensen
Corporate media coverage: U.S. Newswire, 1/18/02
Other corporate coverage mostly limited to local and regional housing issues
&,$'RXEOH'HDOV,Q0DFHGRQLD
Sources:
www.globalresearch.ca, June 14, 2001
Title: "America at War in Macedonia"
Author: Michel Chossudovsky - [email protected]
www.globalresearch.ca, July 26, 2001
Title: "NATO Invades Macedonia"
Author: Michel Chossudovsky
The CIA destabilized the political balance in Macedonia to allow easier
access for a US-British owned oil pipeline, and to prevent Macedonia from
entering the European Union (EU), thereby strengthening the US dollar in a
German deutschmark dominated region.
Without Macedonia in the EU, British and US oil companies have an advantage
over European counterparts in building oil pipelines. Actions toward
destabilization intend to impose economic control over national currencies,
and protect British-US oil companies such as BP-Amoco-ARCO, Chevron, and
Texaco against Europe’s Total-Fina-Elf. The British-US consortium controls
the AMBO Trans-Balkin pipeline project linking the Bulgarian port of Burgas
to Vlore on the Albanian Adriatic coastline. The power game is designed to
increase British-US domination in the region by distancing Bulgaria,
Macedonia, and Albania from the influence of EU countries such as Germany,
Italy, France and Belgium. It’s an effort supported by Wall Street’s
financial establishment, to destabilize and discredit the deutschmark and
the Euro, with hopes of imposing the US dollar as the sole currency for the
region.
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the National Liberation Army (NLA)
37
were trained in Macedonia by British Special Forces and equipped by the
CIA. British military sources confirm that Gezim Ostremi, NLA Commander,
was sponsored by the UN and trained by British Special Forces to head the
Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). When Ostremi left his job as a United
Nations Officer to join the NLA, the commander remained on the UN payroll.
Attacks within Macedonia by the NLA/KLA last year, coincided
chronologically with the process of EU enlargement and the signing of the
historic Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and
Macedonia. These attacks paved the way for further US military and
political presence in the region.
In a strange twist the CIA, NATO, and British Special Forces provided
weapons and training to the NLA/KLA terrorists, while at the same time,
Germany provided Macedonia’s security forces with all-terrain vehicles,
advanced weapons, and equipment to protect themselves from NLA/KLA attacks.
US military advisers, on assignment to the KLA/NLA through private
mercenary companies, remained in contact with NATO and US military and
intelligence planners. It was Washington and London who decided on the
broad direction of KLA-NLA military operations in Macedonia.
Following the August, 2001 Framework Peace Agreement, 3,500 armed NATO
troops entered Macedonia with the intent of disarming Albanian rebels.
Washington’s humanitarian efforts for the NLA/KLA suggested its intent to
protect the terrorists rather then disarm them. Vice President Dick
Cheney’s former firm, Halliburton Energy, is directly linked to the AMBO’s
Trans-Balkans Oil Pipeline.
Last year’s conflict in Macedonia is a small part of a growing rift between
the Anglo-American and European interests in the Balkans. In the wake of
the war in Yugoslavia, Britain has allied itself with the US and severed
many of its ties with Germany, France, and Italy. Washington’s design is to
ensure the dominance of the US military-industrial complex, in alliance
with Britain’s major defense contractors, and British-US oil. These
developments establish significant control over strategic pipelines,
transportation, and communication corridors in the Balkans, Eastern Europe,
and the former Soviet Union.
Faculty evaluators: Elizabeth Burch, Phil Beard, John Lund
Student researchers: Alessandra Diana, David V. Immel
#%XVK$SSRLQWV)RUPHU&ULPLQDOVWR.H\*RYHUQPHQW5ROHV
The Nation, May 7th 2001
Title: "Bush’s Contra Buddies"
Author: Peter Kornbluh
In These Times, 06 August 2001
Title: "Public Serpent; Iran-Contra Villain Elliott Abrams is Back in Action"
Author: Terry Allen - [email protected] and [email protected]
Extra, September/October 2001
Title: "Scandal? What Scandal?"
Author: Terry Allen
38
The Guardian, February 8, 2002
Title: "Friends of Terrorism"
Duncan Campbell - [email protected]
18 February 2002
"No More Mr. Scrupulous Guy"
Author: John Sutherland
Washingtonian, April 2002
Title: "True or False: Iran-Contra’s John Poindexter is Back at the Pentagon"
Author: Michael Zuckerman
Since becoming President, George Bush has brought back into government
service several men who were discredited by criminal involvement in the
Iran-Contra affair, lying to Congress, and other felonies while working for
his father George Bush senior and Ronald Reagan
1$)7$
V&KDSWHU2YHUULGHV3XEOLF3URWHFWLRQ/DZVRI&RXQWULHV
The Nation, October 15, 2001
Title: The Right and US Trade Law: Invalidating the 20th Century"
Author: William Greider - [email protected]
Terrain, Fall 2001
Title: Seven Years of NAFTA
Author: David Huffman - [email protected]
Certain investor protections in NAFTA (the North American Free Trade
Agreement) are giving business investors new power over sovereign nations
and providing an expansive new definition of property rights.
+HQU\.LVVLQJHUDQG*HUDOG)RUG/LHGWRWKH$PHULFDQ3XEOLFDERXW(DVW
7LPRU
Asheville Global Report, 12/13/2001
Title: Documents Show US Sanctioned Invasion of East Timor
Author: Jim Lobe, (IPS) - [email protected]
The release of previously classified documents makes it clear that former
President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, in a
face-to-face meeting in Jakarta, gave then President Suharto a green light
for the 1975 invasion of East Timor.
1HZ/DZV5HVWULFW$FFHVVWR$ERUWLRQVLQ86
Mother Jones, September/ October 2001
Title: "The Quiet War on Abortion"
Author: Barry Yeoman - [email protected]
A quiet war against abortion rights is being conducted by many local
39
governments in the United States. Cities and counties are placing
repressive legal restrictions on abortion providers under the guise of
women’s health laws. These restrictions can include: width of hallways, jet
and angle type of drinking fountains, the heights of ceilings, and how long
one must wait between initially seeing the doctor and when the procedure
can be performed.
%XVK
V(QHUJ\3ODQ7KUHDWHQV(QYLURQPHQWDQG3XEOLF+HDOWK
www.TomPaine.com, Alternet, www.alternet.org, February 15,2002
Title: The Loyal Opposition: Bush’s Global-warming Smog
Author: David Corn - [email protected]
Environment News Service, July, 2001
Title: Bush Energy Plan Could Increase Pollution
Author: Cat Lazaroff - [email protected]
The Progressive Populist, March 15, 2002
Title: Smog Screen
Author: David Corn
The Bush administration’s energy plan will actually increase air pollution
in the United States. The plan calls for increased fossil fuel consumption,
and for decreased funding for research into renewable, clean energy
development.
&,$.LGQDSV6XVSHFWVIRU2YHUVHDV7RUWXUHDQG([HFXWLRQ
Weekend Australian, February, 23, 2003, p. 1
Title: Love Letter Tracks Terrorist’s Footsteps
Author: Don Greenlees - [email protected]
World Socialist Website:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/mar2002/cia-m20_prn.shtml
March 20, 2002
Title: U.S. Oversees Abduction, Torture, Execution of Alleged Terrorists
Author: Barry Grey
Original U.S. Source: *
The Washington Post
March 11, 2002, pg. A01
Title; U.S. Behind Secret Transfer of Terror Suspects"
Authors: Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Peter Finn, W.P. Foreign Service, March
11, 2002, pg. A01
U.S. agents are involved in abducting people they suspect of terrorist
activities and sending them to countries where torture during interrogation
is legal.
&RUSRUDWH0HGLD,JQRUHV.H\,VVXHVRIWKH$QWL*OREDOL]DWLRQ3URWHVWV
40
Columbia Journalism Review JR, September/October 2001
Title: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: The Globalization Protests and the
Befuddled Press
Author: John Giuffo - [email protected]
The U.S. press failed to inform the public of the core underlying issues of
the major anti-globalization protests of recent years.
:RUOG
V&RUDO5HHIV'\LQJ
Harpers, January 2001
Title: Shoals Of Time: Are We Witnessing The Extinction of the World’s
Coral Reefs?
Author: Julia Whitty - [email protected]
One-quarter of all coral reefs have been destroyed by pollution,
sedimentation, over-fishing, and rapid global climate change
$PHULFDQ&RPSDQLHV([SORLWWKH&RQJR
Dollars and Sense, July/August 2001
Title: The Business of War in the Democratic Republic Of Congo: Who benefits?
Authors: Dena Montague, Frieda Berrigan - [email protected]
Voice (Pioneer Valley, MA), March/April, 2001
Title: Depopulation and Perception Management (Part 2: Central Africa)
Author: keith harmon snow - [email protected]
Western multinational corporations’ attempts to cash in on the wealth of
Congo’s resources have resulted in what many have called "Africa’s first
world war," claiming the lives of over 3 million people.
1RYDUWLV
*HQH5HVHDUFK(QGDQJHUV*OREDO3ODQW/LIH
The London Observer, October 8, 2000
Title: Gene Scientists Disable Plants’ Immune Systems
Author: Antony Barnett - [email protected]
Scientists working for Swiss food giant Novartis have developed and
patented a method for ’switching off’ the immune systems of plants, to the
outrage of environmentalists and Third World charities who believe the new
technology to be the most dangerous use so far of gene modification.
/DUJH867HPS&RPSDQ\8QGHUPLQHV8QLRQ-REVDQG0LVWUHDWV:RUNHUV
The Progressive Populist, June 1, 2001
Title: Temps are Ready for Organizing If AFL-CIO Provides the Muscle
Author: Harry Kelber - [email protected]
Labor Ready Inc. is a national temporary employment agency that employed
41
over 700,000 people in 2000. Labor Ready has 839 offices in 49 states and
in Canada, and stands ready to place temporary workers as strikebreakers in
union labor disputes.
)LVK)DUPV7KUHDWHQ+HDOWKRI&RQVXPHUVDQG$TXDWLF+DELWDWV
Mother Jones Magazine, November / December 2001
Title: Aquaculture’s Troubled Harvest
Author: Bruce Barcott - [email protected]
PEW Oceans Commission Report on Marine Aquaculture, 2001
www.pewoceans.org
Title: Marine Aquaculture in the United States: Environmental Impacts and
Policy Options
Authors: Rebecca J. Goldburg, Matthew S. Elliott, Rosamond L. Naylor
Farmed fish provide one-third of the seafood consumed by people
worldwide. In the US, aquaculture supplies almost all of the catfish and
trout as well as half of the shrimp and salmon. Unfortunately,
aquaculture’s harm to people and surrounding environments may be greater
than its highly anticipated benefits.
+RUVHV)DFH/LYHVRI8QQHFHVVDU\$EXVHIRU'UXJ&RPSDQ\3URILWV
The Animals’ Agenda
March/April 2001
Title: Pissing their Lives Away
Author: Susan Wagner - [email protected]
Faculty Evaluator: Wendy Ostroff
Student Researchers: Kelly Hand, Adam Cimino, Haley Mueller
Pregnant horses are four legged drug machines-being repeatedly impregnated
and confined to narrow stalls as their urine is collected to produce
Permarin a drug used by millions of menopausal women.
:DO0DUW7DNHV8QLRQ%XVWLQJWRWKH6WDWH/HYHO
Madison Capital Times, August, 2001
Title: Wal-Mart Ravages Workers’ Rights
By John Nichols - [email protected]
Reprinted In Asheville Global Report 9/6/01
Wal-Mart has been pouring a considerable amount of money into a state level
political campaigns supporting right to works law that reduce the wages and
benefits for workers.
)HGHUDO*RYHUQPHQW%DLOV2XW)DLOLQJ3ULYDWH3ULVRQV
The American Prospect , September 10, 2001
Title: Bailing Out Private Jails
42
Author: Judith Greene - [email protected]
Private prisons have been rife with more abuse and lawsuits than state run
prisons, leading to a decline in state level support, but the federal
government is stepping in to bail them out.
PROJECT CENSORED 2003 NATIONAL JUDGES
Prof. Robin Andersen, Fordham University , media studies
Richard Barnet, author
Liane Clorfene-Casten, journalist, president, Chicago Media Watch
Dr. George Gerbner, School of Communications, Univ. of Pennsylvania.
Lenore Foerstel, Progressive International Media Exchange
Prof. Robert Hackett, School of Communications, Simon Fraser University;
director of News Watch Canada
Dr. Carl Jensen, author, founder and former director of Project Censored
Prof. Sut Jhally, Media Education Foundation, University of Massachusetts
Prof. Nicholas Johnson, University of Iowa law school; FCC Commissioner,
1966-1973.
Norman Solomon, author
Rhoda H. Karpatkin, president, Consumers Union
Charles I. Klotzer, editor, publisher emeritus, St. Louis Journalism Review
Nancy Kranich, dean, NY University Libraries, past president of American
Library Association.
Judity Krug, director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library
Association.
Prof. Robert McChesney, author, member of Institute of Communications
Research and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Prof. William Lutz, Rutgers University English department
Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D., economist, columnist, King Features, Pacifica radio.
Prof. Jack Nelson, Rutgers University, education.
Michael Parenti, author
Dan Perkins, political cartoonist, creator of Tom Tomorrow
Barbara Seaman, author
Prof. Erna Smith, San Francisco State, journalism
Norman Solomon, Columnist and Author
Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld, president, D.C. Productions, Ltd.; former press
secretary to Betty Ford
Project Censored
Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Ave.
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Tax deductable donations accepted at:
http://www.projectcensored.org/contacts/donor.htm
43
Peter Phillips Ph.D.
Sociology Department/Project Censored
Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Ave.
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
707-664-2588
http://www.projectcensored.org/
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