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(EDITOR'S NOTE: A NATIONAL PANEL OF MEDIA EXPERTS ANNUALLY SELECTS
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THE TOP TEN UNDER-REPORTED NEWS STORIES OF THE YEAR)
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AMERICA'S INFORMATION MONOPOLY
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TOPS UNDER-REPORTED NEWS STORIES OF 1987
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ROHNERT PARK -- The rapidly increasing concentration of media
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ownership in America and its impact on a free society topped the list of 25
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overlooked issues of 1987 according to a national panel of media experts.
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The second most undercovered story of the year, cited by Project
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Censored, concerned the mounting evidence of a large-scale contra/CIA drug
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smuggling network.
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Now in its 12th year, Project Censored, a national media research
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effort conducted annually at Sonoma State University, California, locates
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stories about significant issues which are not widely publicized by the
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national news media.
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Following are the top ten under-reported news stories of 1987 as
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announced by project director Carl Jensen, professor of communication
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studies at Sonoma State University:
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1. The Information Monopoly. Media expert Ben Bagdikian found that
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in 1987 just 29 corporations controlled half or more of the media business
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in America. Wall Street analysts of the media predict that only half a
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dozen giant firms will control most of our media by the 1990s. The impact
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of this information cartel on a free society is ignored by the mass media.
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2. The U.S. and Its Contra/Drug Connection. An investigation
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by the Christic Institute, along with testimony before Congressional
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committees last year, revealed a startling picture of large-scale drug
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trafficking under the auspices of the U.S. government/contra supply
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network. In the midst of Nancy Reagan's well-publicized "Just Say No" to
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drugs campaign, the mainstream media failed to expose the contra gun-
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running operation that provided a safe conduit for drugs into the U.S.
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3. Unreported Worldwide Nuclear Accidents. In 1987, the West German
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weekly DER SPIEGEL published secret nuclear reactor accident reports
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compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The reports, translated
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into English and published in a small circulation U.S. publication, were
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ignored by the major media. DER SPIEGEL said that "a meltdown was a real
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possibility" in several of the accidents and warned that human error is
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most prevalent in North America.
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4. Reagan's Mania for Secrecy. Even though President Reagan
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proclaimed 1987 the "Year of the Reader," three major reports published in
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1987 charged that because of the Reagan administration's penchant for
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secrecy, there was less to read last year. The reports detail how a massive
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network of executive orders, secret directives, and administrative edicts
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institutionalized secrecy throughout the government and put unprecedented
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controls on information available to the public.
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5. George Bush's Role in the Iran Arms Deal. Evidence surfaced last
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year which indicates that Vice President Bush, far more than President
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Reagan, promoted the Iran arms initiative, took part in secret
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negotiations, and conferred upon Oliver North the secret powers to carry it
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out. The evidence suggests that Bush supported the Iran arms sales because
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of an economic motive
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-- the desire to stabilize dropping oil prices.
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6. Biowarfare Research in University Laboratories. Overshadowed by
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Star Wars, the push toward biowarfare has been one of the Reagan
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administration's best kept secrets. Despite an international agreement
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which bans the development of germ-warfare agents, the Pentagon's research
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budget for infectious diseases and toxins has increased tenfold since
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fiscal '81 and most of the '86 budget of $42 million went to 24 U.S.
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university campuses where the world's most deadly organisms are being
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cultured in campus labs.
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7. Biased Press Coverage of Arias Peace Plan. Two studies monitoring
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U.S. press coverage of the Arias peace plan found significant bias in the
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coverage. The New York-based Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting group
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concluded that the study showed how "Reagan's obsession with Nicaragua has
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turned into a media obsession." The other study, by the Media Alliance, a
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San Francisco-based group of media professionals, concluded that most of
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the newspapers studied followed the Reagan administration's direction as to
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what deserved coverage in Central America.
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8. Dumping Our Toxic Wastes on the Third World. Exporting hazardous
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and toxic wastes to Third World countries is a growth industry. The
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exported material includes heavy metal residues and chemical-contaminated
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wastes, pharmaceutical refuse, and municipal sewage sludge and incinerator
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ash. The risks for countries that accept our wastes range from
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contamination of groundwater and crops to birth defects and cancer. Since
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we import food from some of these same countries, our exported hazardous
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wastes could easily end up on our own dinner tables.
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9. The Censored Report of Torture in El Salvador. A 165-page report
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smuggled out of the Mariona men's prison in El Salvador by the Human Rights
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Commission of El Salvador, documents the "routine" use of at least 40 kinds
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of torture on political prisoners. Prisoners are systematically tortured by
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Salvadoran police forces who are trained and occasionally supervised by
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American military advisers. The use of torture reportedly is part of the
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U.S. counterinsurgency program in El Salvador.
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10. Project Galileo Shuttle to Carry Lethal Plutonium. Despite dire
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scientific warnings of a possible disaster, NASA is pursuing plans to
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launch the Project Galileo shuttle space probe with 49 pounds of plutonium
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on it. Theoretically, one pound of plutonium, evenly distributed, could
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give everyone on the planet a fatal case of lung cancer. Critics of the
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plan claim that putting Galileo's plutonium payload into space is both
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risky and unnecessary.
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The other 15 under-reported stories of 1987 were: U.S. Sends Bullets
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to Starving Children in Honduras; Decline in Genetic Diversity: Global
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Disaster in the Making; The United States: An International Outlaw; The
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Tragedy of Grenada Since October 25, 1983; The FBI Tries To Turn America's
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Librarians Into Spies; Reagan's 1980 "October Surprise" -- Arms For
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Hostages; Oliver North's Secret Plan to Declare Martial Law; Non-ionizing
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Radiation and Public Health/Safety Hazards; Glowing Outlook For Food
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Irradiation Business; The Growth of Economic Apartheid in America; OMB
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Compiling Nationwide Blacklist of Grant Violators; Roundup: the World's
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Most Popular Weed Killer; Puerto Rico: The Revolution at Our Doorstep;
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Congressional Conflict of Interest: "Company" Man Probes Contras; Millions
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of America's Animals Tested, Maimed, and Killed Annually.
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PROJECT CENSORED JUDGES
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The panel of jurors who selected the top ten stories were: Dr. Donna
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Allen, founding editor of MEDIA REPORT TO WOMEN; Ben Bagdikian, Dean,
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Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley; Noam
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Chomsky, professor, Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of
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Technology; John Kenneth Galbraith, economist, Harvard University; George
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Gerbner, professor, Annenberg School of Communications, University of
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Pennsylvania; Nicholas Johnson, professor, College of Law, University of
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Iowa; Charles L. Klotzer, editor and publisher, THE ST. LOUIS JOURNALISM
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REVIEW; Brad Knickerbocker, national news editor, THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
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MONITOR;
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Judith Krug, Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American
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Library Association; Bill Moyers, Executive Editor, Public Affairs
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Television; Jack L. Nelson, professor, Graduate School of Education,
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Rutgers University; Herbert I. Schiller, Professor of Communication,
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University of California, San Diego; George Seldes, America's Emeritus
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Journalist and author of THE GREAT THOUGHTS; Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld,
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president, D.C. Productions; Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-
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in-Chief, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT.
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Sonoma State University student researchers participating in the
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nationwide research effort were Frances Caballo, Carolina Clare, Morley
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Cowan, Nana Nash, Mark Pierson, Lance Plaza, Kevin W.Rose, Roxanne
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Turnage, and Kelly Wendt.
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Jensen, who originated the media research project in 1976, said "The
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increasing centralization of information sources, combined with the Reagan
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administration's mania for secrecy, significantly reduced the flow of
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information to the American people last year. Each of the stories cited
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above should have been on the front page of every newspaper and on every
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network news program in the country. The fact that they weren't suggests
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there is an effective covert form of censorship in America."
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Anyone interested in nominating a 1988 story for next year's project
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can send a copy of the story to Carl Jensen, Project Censored, Sonoma State
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University, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.
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(EDITOR'S NOTE: SIDEBAR STORY FOLLOWS)
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INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA
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CITED FOR EXPOSING "CENSORED" STORIES
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Following are the investigative journalists and media cited by Project
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Censored for exploring the top ten issues overlooked or under-reported by
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the national news media in 1987:
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1. The Information Monopoly -- EXTRA!, 6/87, "The 26 corporations
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that own our media," and MULTINATIONAL MONITOR, 9/87, "The Media Brokers,"
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both by Ben Bagdikian; UTNE READER, 1/88, Censorship in Publishing," by
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Lynette Lamb.
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2. The U.S. and Its Contra/Drug Connection -- THE CHRISTIC INSTITUTE
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SPECIAL REPORT, 11/87, "The Contra-Drug Connection" by Daniel P. Sheehan;
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NEWSDAY, 6/28/87, "Witness: Contras Got Drug Cash," by Knut Royce; THE
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NATION, 9/5/87, "How the Drug Czar Got Away," by Martin A. Lee; IN THESE
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TIMES, 4/15/87, "CIA, contras hooked on drug money," by Vince Bielski and
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Dennis Bernstein.
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3. Unreported Worldwide Nuclear Accidents -- EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL,
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Summer, 1987, "Secret Documents Reveal Nuclear Accidents Worldwide," by Gar
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Smith with Hans Hollitscher; EXTRA!, 6/87, "Nuclear Broadcasting Company."
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4. Reagan's Mania for Secrecy -- THE NATION, 5/23/87, "History
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Deleted;" GOVERNMENT SECRECY: DECISIONS WITHOUT DEMOCRACY, 12/87, by People
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For The American Way; FYI MEDIA ALERT 1987, 3/87, "The Reagan
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Administration & The News Media," by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of
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the Press; THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Washington Office, "Less
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Access to Less Information By and About the U.S. Government: IX," 12/87, by
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Anne A. Heanue.
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5. George Bush's Role in the Iran Arms Deal -- PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE,
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12/21/87, "Bush had oil policy interest in promoting Iran arms deals," by
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Peter Dale Scott.
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6. Biowarfare Research in University Laboratories -- ISTHMUS,
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10/9/87, "Biowarfare and the UW," by Richard Jannaccio; THE PROGRESSIVE,
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11/16/87, "Poisons from the Pentagon," by Seth Shulman; WALL STREET
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JOURNAL, 9/17/86, "Military Science," by Bill Richards and Tim Carrington.
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7. Biased Press Coverage of Arias Peace Plan -- SAN FRANCISCO BAY
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GUARDIAN, 1/6/88, "On Central America, U.S. Dailies Parrot Reagan Line," by
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Jeff Gillenkirk; EXTRA!, 8/87, "Media Put Reagan Spin on Arias Plan," by
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Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee.
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8. Dumping Our Toxic Wastes on the Third World -- THE NATION,
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10/3/87, "The Export of U.S. Toxic Wastes," by Andrew Porterfield and David
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Weir.
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9. The Censored Report of Torture in El Salvador -- THE NATION,
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2/21/87, "After the Press Bus Left," and THE NATION, 11/14/87, "The Press
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and the Plan," both by Alexander Cockburn; SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER,
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11/14/86, "In Prison, Salvador rights panel works on," by Ron Ridenhour;
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MARIN INTERFAITH TASK FORCE ON CENTRAL AMERICA, 7/2/87, by Liz Erringer.
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10. Project Galileo Shuttle To Carry Lethal Plutonium -- THE NATION,
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1/23/88, "The Space Probe's Lethal Cargo," by Karl Grossman.
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