Huff speaks of 'Project Censorship'
Promoting prohibition of covering-up and under-reporting
Chris Devine
Issue date: 5/14/09 Last update: 5/18/09 at 11:36 AM PST
Section: News
"We are all bounty hunters trying to kill the story," explained Mickey Huff of Project Censored, when he spoke to a Laney class on Tuesday the 28th of May. Huff, accompanied by colleague Frances Capell, was describing the uncovering of censored stories.
"What do we mean when we say censored?" Huff asked. "The definition we use--is anything that interferes with he free flow of information."
Huff explained that "censorship can be far more insidious, or subtle." Going on to point out that under covered news is a form of censorship, "stories can be published, but it's how they are published."
And that is just what the Sonoma State University based media research project--Project Censored--tries to prohibit: the covering up, or the under-reporting, of the news.
Huff, who is also a professor at DVC (Diablo Valley College), used the recent attention to the so-called 'Somali pirate' phenomenon to demonstrate his definition. Drawing from the heroic rescue of a United States captain, Huff pointed out that we know the name of the rescued, but the 'pirates' themselves, or for that matter the motives that would push someone to such extremes. Somali pirates are just protecting their coastline, claiming that, "nuclear waste was being dumped in [Somalia's] water," by other states, Huff said.
"This is just one example," Huff said. And it was. Huff brought to attention Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapse, and even touched upon the Oscar Grant shooting. "Where was the Tribune, where was the Chronicle," Huff asked speaking of Grant. Adding that it wouldn't of been covered the same "if it wasn't covered by actual people."
The project was formed in 1976, runs not only a website, but publishes an annual collection of stories that the project considers to be of great public value, but hasn't gotten the attention that their severity deserves. Huff and Capell were selling copies for $15.00.
For Capell's part, she has been researching a section of the book that covers "Junk food news." Junk food news entails coverage of all things superficial, such as celebrity gossip. Capell said that, "[The media] are over covering things we don't need to know about." This is done, in part, through ranking these stories by how much coverage they receive in the press.
Huff described the website as, "a place you can go to start educating yourself." Indeed the site is a wealth of resources, and includes links to other news sites, RSS feeds, and the fruit of the projects efforts.
Huff had said that the best way to see through the fog of media, was to "be a critical consumer." The project, book, and website aims at arming the public with the tools of becoming just that.
You can see for yourself at: http://www.projectcensored.org.
"What do we mean when we say censored?" Huff asked. "The definition we use--is anything that interferes with he free flow of information."
Huff explained that "censorship can be far more insidious, or subtle." Going on to point out that under covered news is a form of censorship, "stories can be published, but it's how they are published."
And that is just what the Sonoma State University based media research project--Project Censored--tries to prohibit: the covering up, or the under-reporting, of the news.
Huff, who is also a professor at DVC (Diablo Valley College), used the recent attention to the so-called 'Somali pirate' phenomenon to demonstrate his definition. Drawing from the heroic rescue of a United States captain, Huff pointed out that we know the name of the rescued, but the 'pirates' themselves, or for that matter the motives that would push someone to such extremes. Somali pirates are just protecting their coastline, claiming that, "nuclear waste was being dumped in [Somalia's] water," by other states, Huff said.
"This is just one example," Huff said. And it was. Huff brought to attention Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapse, and even touched upon the Oscar Grant shooting. "Where was the Tribune, where was the Chronicle," Huff asked speaking of Grant. Adding that it wouldn't of been covered the same "if it wasn't covered by actual people."
The project was formed in 1976, runs not only a website, but publishes an annual collection of stories that the project considers to be of great public value, but hasn't gotten the attention that their severity deserves. Huff and Capell were selling copies for $15.00.
For Capell's part, she has been researching a section of the book that covers "Junk food news." Junk food news entails coverage of all things superficial, such as celebrity gossip. Capell said that, "[The media] are over covering things we don't need to know about." This is done, in part, through ranking these stories by how much coverage they receive in the press.
Huff described the website as, "a place you can go to start educating yourself." Indeed the site is a wealth of resources, and includes links to other news sites, RSS feeds, and the fruit of the projects efforts.
Huff had said that the best way to see through the fog of media, was to "be a critical consumer." The project, book, and website aims at arming the public with the tools of becoming just that.
You can see for yourself at: http://www.projectcensored.org.
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