Project Censored's State of the Free Press 2021
Description
The new and improved "Censored," detailing the top censored stories and media analysis of 2020.
Our nation's oldest news-monitoring group, Project Censored, refreshes its longstanding yearbook series, Censored, with State of the Free Press 2021. This edition offers a more succinct and comprehensive survey of the most important but underreported news stories of 2020; in addition to a comparative analysis of the current state of corporate and independent news media, and its effect on democracy. The establishment media sustains a decrepit post-truth era, as examined the lowlight features: "Junk Food News"-frivolous stories that distract the public from actual news-and-"News Abuse"-important stories covered in ways that undermine public understanding. The alternative media provokes a burgeoning critical media literacy age, as evaluated in the highlight feature: "Media Democracy in Action"-relevant stories responsibly reported on by independent organizations. Finally, in an homage to the history of the annual report, the editors reinstate the "Déjà vu News" feature-revisited stories from previous editions. State of the Free Press 2021 endows readers with the critical thinking and media literacy skills required to hold the corporate media to account for distorting or censoring news coverage, and thus, to revitalize our democracy.
Praise for Project Censored's State of the Free Press 2021
“Today we mostly shut out news about our darker side, which is why we need Project Censored. Someone has to remind us to look in the mirror.”
—Matt Taibbi, author of Hate Inc., from the Foreword to State of the Free Press 2021
“Project Censored has shined the light for more than forty years on those critical stories and investigative reports that government officials, major media companies, and assorted gatekeepers of ‘respectable’ journalism too often ignore.”
—Juan González, co-host of Democracy Now! and professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University
“Project Censored continues to tell the important stories often glossed over or ignored in establishment media. Their dedication to delivering these hidden stories—especially when it comes to issues surrounding access to education and the corporatization of public schools—is to be applauded.”
—Jasmine Banks, executive director, UnKoch My Campus
“For many decades, Project Censored has championed the voices, views, and stories that our profit-driven media system routinely marginalizes for political and economic reasons. Now more than ever, we desperately need such invaluable work of calling out censorship—in all of its guises—if we are to have any semblance of democracy in the United States.”
—Victor Pickard, author of Democracy Without Journalism?
“At a time when freedom of expression is under enormous threat around the world, with new attacks coming from new directions every day, this book is essential reading.”
—Rachael Jolley, editor-in-chief, Index on Censorship
“Project Censored has been reporting uncomfortable truths for the past 45 years, reminding the rest of us what nuts-and-bolts journalism looks like. Honest. Unflinching. Well-documented. With mounting threats to democracies around the world, we need books like this one now more than ever.”
—Aaron Delwiche, professor of communication, Trinity College, and editor of PropagandaCritic.com