Censorship in the Media

By Terence J. Grant

Censorship: Argument Against• We think of censorship in terms of a person or

group trying to “maintaining decency” or “hide filth”– Which is largely and correctly viewed as introducing

personal biases to, “dumbing down of” and defacement of messages

• In terms of art, education, and news, censorship is unacceptable– Changing the message almost always perverts the

message– In this case, censorship is used to “hide the truth”

Censorship: Argument For• There is a case to be made for the sake of the children,

but that’s tired and clichéd, so let’s take another approach…

• What if censorship became a useful tool?• Then used properly, it can help keep a message pure of

distractions• For example, which is better at getting the message

across?

“Too much shit fucks up meaning.”--Or--

“Meaning can be lost when the message is unclear.”

Censorship: Argument For

• Both “mean” the same thing, but the perceived attitudes and personality in the statements are much different

• You may lose part or all of your audience if they infer a personality from the written word that clashes with theirs

• The latter has less “personality” and broader appeal, but can still lose an audience as “boring”

Censorship: Theory

• If media controls all aspects of life…• …Then censorship, particularly when it’s used

to control the content, attitude, and personality of a message…

• …Has a big impact on all messages…• …Which in turn, affects the media as a whole…• …And thus is a large contributor to media’s

control.

Censorship: Historical Concept

• Derives from Roman practices in which two officials were appointed to conduct a census, award contracts, and supervise manners and morals

• Today censorship’s scope in regards to media is that of excluding topics, social groups, and language from broadcasted content

Censorship Motivation

• Still highly prevalent in Television• Motivation for censorship comes from familiar

sources:– Military– Political– Religious– Corporate

Censorship: Military

• During the “Desert Storm”/“Gulf War” perhaps the most famous example of a clash between journalists and the United States government

• Before starting a story, the Department of Defense required all journalists to sign off on a set of “Ground Rules”

• After the story was completed, the photos and text were subject to U.S. or allied military censorship

Censorship: Military

• Case study:– David Turnley, a photographer for the Detroit Free

Press, takes a series of photos from inside an ambush of U.S. soldiers

– Although most of his photos don’t make it back to the United States due to the U.S. Government’s fear of the message, one does make it after all

– A photo which depicts a soldier who has just realized his best friend was killed after an ambush

Censorship: Military

Censorship: Military

• Pictures like this and others show a few things:– Censorship is not absolute– Perception of the U.S. Government is that there’s

something “to hide”– Debate is sparked not only on media, but whether the

war is even justified• As a result, the U.S. Government has loosened

their grip somewhat on the media• And this is almost the complete opposite of what

they wished to accomplish with censorship

Censorship: Political

• Universities are hotbeds for political activism• Occasionally this leads to battles between the

college administration board and student groups

• An examination of a person’s morals is typically involved in which “side” to take on censorship issues in politics

• Who is “correct” is largely dependent on your belief system

Censorship: Political

• Case study:– Activism group Students Confronting Apartheid in

Israel (SCAI) had a photo exhibit approved for their cause by Stanford University

– Two days after the exhibit went up, it was pulled without notifying SCAI

– SCAI organizes a protest, resulting in perhaps more awareness than a photo exhibit, but also resulting in conflict between students and administration

Censorship: Political

Student protesters at an SCAI rally, April 21st, 2008

Censorship: Religious• Religious censorship tends to take the form of

destruction• Book burnings occurring throughout history

include such incidents as:– Burning of Jewish Holy books by the monarch

Antiochus IV– Egyptian Alchemy books were burned by Emperor

Diocletian in 292 A.D.– Comic books were burned in West Viriginia and New

York in 1948• All under the guise of the will of God

Censorship: Religious

• Case Study:– The “Bonfire of the Vanities” was an art destruction

movement during the Renaissance era headed by priest Girolamo Savonarola

– Vanities – paintings, mirrors, make-up, and musical instruments were thrown into massive fires, as they would “tempt one to sin”

– Some artists were even compelled to throw their own works into the fire

– Result: Religious leaders can be powerful influences

Censorship: Religious

Agostino di Duccio, Bonfire of the Vanities, c. 1457-1462

Censorship: Corporate• Corporate censorship comes in a different form

altogether• For instance, in the form of advertisement

dollars, they completely control the mediums of radio and television

• In a medium they don’t completely control, like the Internet, they use lawyers and “cease and desist” notices

• So if they don’t like a message, image, person, or theme, they can literally shut it down immediately

Censorship: Corporate

• Case study:– In November 2008, Toyota sent “cease and desist”

orders to websites like DesktopNexus claiming ownership of fan created artwork of their cars

– The media jumped on the story, and there was a major backlash on news discussion websites such as Slashdot and Digg

– Result: Before 72 hours had even passed, Toyota admitted wrongdoing and retracted the order

– The Internet isn’t easy to censor

Censorship: Corporate

A fan created Toyota Yaris image Toyota claimed was their property

Censorship: Why do we still do it?

• From an anti-censorship perspective, there appear to be more potential dangers than benefits inherit in allowing censorship to continue– Loss of art– Forced Vandalism

• However, if we get rid of censorship altogether, we lose an important tool for guiding ourselves as well– Lose our message– Lose our audience

• So censoring censorship itself is just as bad

References• Censorship, by R. Worringham & R. Buxton, retrieved Thursday November 20,

2008 10:15pm– http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/censorship/censorship.htm

• Media Ethics Issues and Cases, 2nd ed. edited by Philip Patterson and Lee Wilkins, Madison, WI: WCB Brown & Benchmark, 1994, pp. 212-215

• Political Censorship at Stanford U., by S.U.Connected, retrieved Thursday November 20, 2008 10:19pm– http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/21/18494315.php

• SavanaRola: Lighter of the Bonfire of the Vanities, by R. Russell, retrieved Thursday November 20, 2008 10:20pm– http://www.helium.com/items/489922-savanarola-lighter-of-the-bonfire-of-the-vanities

• Toyota demands wallpapers be removed from Desktopnexus, by M. Humphries, retrieved Thursday November 20, 2008 10:22pm– http://www.geek.com/articles/news/toyota-demands-wallpapers-be-removed-from-

desktopnexus-20081118/• Toyota Admits Wrongdoing in Wallpaper Case, by B. Jones, retrieved Thursday

November 20, 2008 10:24pm– http://torrentfreak.com/toyta-admits-wrongdoing-in-wallpaper-case-081120/