this week's review
JANUARY 18, 1999

The Year's Top 25
Censored Stories


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25 Headlines You Didn't Get to See


Censored 1998: The News that Didn't Make the News

by Peter Phillips and Project Censored
introduced by Danny Schechter
with cartoons by Tom Tomorrow

Censorship in these pages is discussed in terms of specific and detailed hard-hitting stories that have been, in this report's words, "ignored, undercovered, or diminished by the mainstream media." ...As Peter Phillips...explains, "the structure of media organizations themselves are creating latent forms of censorship that can be just as damaging as intentional censorship." And be clear, the practices that lead to so much homogeneity in a medium which appears so diverse are not the work of the official guardians of network standards and practices. They flow instead from a kind of group-think corporate consensus, steeped in market logic and deeply inbred in an un-brave news culture that leads to conscience-free conformity and self-censorship.

—from the Introduction
by Danny Schechter

The well-documented synopses of the top 25 suppressed news stories comprise only about a third of the book; the remainder is devoted to seven indispensable essays on the state of news and communications in the face of mass media consolidation and the selling out of government to corporate interests, with an additional 150 pages of appendices to assist further research into the topics covered by the book.

What follows are selected "highlights" from a sobering read. It's hard to determine which is more frightening--the stories themselves or the fact that a nation with a nominally free press allows it to gather dust in favor of endless regurgitations of celebrity trivia along the lines of O.J., Lady Di, and Monica Lewinsky.

  • CLINTON ADMINISTRATION AGGRESSIVELY PROMOTES U.S. ARMS SALES WORLDWIDE
    The United States' share of the global arms market increased from 16% in 1988 to 63% by the end of 1997. $10 billion in weapons are sold to non-democratic governments annually. Putting today's weapons in potential enemies' hands makes the domestic market ripe for tomorrow's arms.
  • PERSONAL CARE AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS MAY BE CARCINOGENIC
    Although the FDA classifies cosmetics and hygiene products, it does not regulate or "approve" them for safety. Calls for self-regulation have gone unheeded by manufacturers. Among the products which contain one or more known carcinogens are Clairol "Nice and Easy" hair dye, Vidal Sassoon shampoo, and Cover Girl makeup. Crest toothpaste contains no less than three carcinogenic substances: titanium dioxide, saccharin, and FD&C Blue #1.
  • TWENTY-ONE STATES OFFER CORPORATIONS IMMUNITY FROM VIOLATING ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
    New laws grant corporations immunity from prosecution for violating environmental laws so long as they report the violations themselves. While this "self-auditing" sounds like a good thing, all self-reported violations become officially secret, cannot be divulged to the public, and cannot be used as evidence in legal proceedings so long as the companies take "reasonable steps" to comply with the laws thereafter. So if a chemical company voluntarily admits to government authorities that it just dumped 10,000 gallons of dioxin in the river, that disclosure is kept secret from the public and goes unpunished so long as the company promises not to do it again. Such laws have been passed in 21 states and bills are pending in 14 more. What you don't know will probably kill you.
  • EVIDENCE OF FLUORIDATION DANGER MOUNTS --WITH LITTLE BENEFIT TO YOUR TEETH
    It might just be that the fear expressed by Jack Ripper in Dr. Strangelove might not have been so crazy after all. New evidence suggests that ingesting fluoridated water to fight tooth decay is about as effective as drinking Coppertone to prevent sunburn. And there are harmful side effects as well. In addition to linking excess fluoride to certain forms of cancer, communities which fluoridate their water exhibited a 30% higher incidence of Down Syndrome than those which did not. Where does fluoride come from? It is a by-product of aluminum manufacturing, petro-chemical, and fertilizer industries which would otherwise be disposed at great cost as a toxic waste.
  • RUSSIAN PLUTONIUM LOST OVER CHILE AND BOLIVIA
    What happens when a Russian space probe bearing half a pound of plutonium breaks up and scatters debris over 10,000 square miles of South America? No one knows because the plutonium hasn't been found since the November 16, 1996 disaster. Because one millionth of a gram is a carcinogenic dose, that half-pound, if dispersed high in the atmosphere, would be enough to induce lung cancer in about three billion people. Worried? Just take a deep breath and relax...

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