The News That Didn't Make the News

Censored 2010: What would you expect in return if you gave someone 64 million dollars? You'll find the answer to that question and other puzzling social and political issues among the new top 25-censored stories just revealed by Project Censored. Here's the rest of the story.

The Top Censored Stories of 2008-09, edited by Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff in cooperation with students and faculty at Sonoma State University and numerous other colleges and universities, is to be officially released September 30, 2009. The Censored 2010 yearbook features the twenty-five most important censored news stories of 2008-09 as selected by Project Censored. The annual yearbook from Project Censored at Sonoma State University is available in bookstores nationwide from Seven Stories Press or can be ordered on-line in both English and Spanish at http://www.projectcensored.org/. Project Censored was the winner of the 2008 PEN Oakland Censorship Award.

Censored 2010 provides over 400 pages of media criticism and analysis from dozens of researchers and academics with assistance from students on nine college and university campuses. "It is the most comprehensive yearbook we have ever released," said Peter Phillips, recent past director of Project Censored. After thirteen yearbooks, Dr. Phillips turned over the directorship of Project Censored in the summer of 2009 to Ben Frymer assistant professor of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University. Dr. Frymer will continue the thirty-four year tradition of researching and publishing the most important news stories not covered by the corporate media in the United States. "We are carrying on the research started by our founder Dr. Carl Jensen in 1976," stated Dr. Frymer. Carl Jenson celebrated his 80th birthday this year and remains active on the non-profit board of directors of the Media Freedom Foundation-the 502-C-3 fund-raising organization for Project Censored. (http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/)

Also featured this year in Censored 2010, is the annual Déjà vu chapter with updates on the most significant news stories still not covered in the corporate media from previous years; the Junk Food News chapter addressing the most frivolous news stories that were covered in the media such as Michael Phelps smoking of an illegal substance and the presidential first puppy; and a special chapter on the positive news stories of hope and citizen activism so often left out of our corporate media.

Censored 2010 welcomes back the biting political cartoons of Khalil Bendib and contributions from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's annual Fear and Favor review, the Center for Media and Democracy's special report on pentagon propaganda, and the annual international report from the London based Index on Censorship.

"We are honored to have international independent journalist Dahr Jamail provide a strong introduction to this year's book," said Mickey Huff co-editor. "Jamail has won numerous awards for his work on the Middle-East and represents one of the best examples of independent investigative reporting in this decade," added Huff.

As Peter Phillip's final yearbook, Censored 2010 address many of the criticisms regarding Project Censored efforts over the past fourteen years. "We take on the long time critics who claim that Project Censored is a Left-leaning organization," said Dr. Phillips. "Nothing could be further from the truth. Why stories about the powerful in government and big business are left leaning is beyond our understanding. It seems that this is just good journalism-the journalism that is missing in the corporate media-it could just as well be middle-leaning journalism or right-leaning journalism. Project Censored supports the news stories that hold the powerful in society accountable for their decisions and actions, which is what a free press is supposed to do." Phillips added. Phillips was the 2009 recipient of the Dallas Smythe Award from the Union for Democratic Communications.

Chapters in Censored 2010 include topics on the Truth Emergency in the US, the hyperreality of television news, election fraud in 2008, issues from the World Water Forum, human trafficking, Lesbian and Gay standpoint films, and the importance of expanding investigative research to support media democracy. Authors of these chapters include academics and media researchers Brad Friedman, Aashika Damodor, Andrew Roth, James Dean and Andrew Hobbs.

Project Censored, Sonoma State University
707-664-2500, censored@sonoma.edu
Ben Frymer, Director Project Censored, bfrymer@gmail.com
Contact Censored 2010 Editors for Interviews and Updates
Peter Phillips, 707-664-2588, peter.phillips@sonoma.edu
Mickey Huff, 510-798-6251, mickeyhuff@mac.com