With the recent boom in the information age, many new outlets are able to get their voice heard. For instance, blogs now give the everyday person an opportunity to reach a mass audience. This is a start; however, the major networks are still censored and news is filtered to meet the agenda of media owners and their investors. Media owners and operators have a stronghold on the material and information that is broadcasted over their channels.
According to CNN Correspondent Ali Velshi, concerning the language associated with our current economic recession, “We’re very careful not to throw words around like ‘meltdown’ and ‘free fall’." Moreover, even The Wall Street Journal has censored words like “crash” and “pandemonium." Is this appropriate considering our economy has never seen such a crash in this history of this country? It is what it is and the public needs to know where the market stands, even if it is catastrophic news. Even though media ownership has every right to uphold an image and censor themselves, the government needs to censor themselves by not prohibiting certain types of speech. According to President George W. Bush, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong." This statement was made after over half a year of unemployment rates on the rise. Author Daniel Gross refers to this type of restricted speech as “happy talk.” He states this type of speech could be tolerated in a world where countless Americans are prospering; however, this is not the case and the people are financially suffering.
Some Americans are taking action. Even though the people cannot change what guidelines media outlets set for their writers and journalists, many people are utilizing the new mediums to get their voice heard. Project Censored is an organization that is committed to presenting “real news” that contests the major media news markets. Their main goal is to educate college students about our current media structure and emphasizes media research to help sift out the propaganda that fills the news. They support a free and independent media enterprise, and work to help provide Americans with the information needed to be properly informed. They strive to bring the people out of the dark and realize they are being subjected to bias news.
The media is not dominated and operated by the people, it’s fundamentally run by the elite and the executives that pay the bills and make the money. According to the President of Project Censored, Peter Philips, “Given this interlocked media network, it is more than safe to say that major media in the United States effectively represent the interests of corporate America, and that the media elite are the watchdogs of acceptable ideological messages, the parameters of news and information content, and the general use of media resources.” He goes on to say that “journalists are not immune from management influence.” They want their stories to be published, permitted, and printed; therefore, even making editors realize they have boundaries that need to be upheld.
It’s understandable that media agencies need to make a profit; however, at what cost? This country was founded on beliefs of democracy and free enterprise. Money drives our current media market, which means that censorship is inevitable. A good and strong image is essential in today’s world; however, is it worth compromising American’s first amendment right to free press? As a mass communication and communications student and a potential employee in the media, I too will be faced with these same issues. Its hard to say where I will stand considering money will be an important factor. What I do know is, if given the opportunity to open the eyes of Americans and given the ability to present the public with facts that are needed to be properly informed, then I have succeeded and upheld my right to freedom of speech.
