MASS MEDIA

CENSORSHIP

Key Terms
CENSORSHIP: the suppression, alteration or deletion of material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive. DEFAMATION: anything that damages a persons reputation in the eyes of society. LIBEL: publishing a false statement that damages a persons reputation (written defamation) SLANDER: making a false verbal statement that damages a persons reputation (verbal defamation) AUTHORITARIAN CENSORSHIP: positions of power are used to limit access to information. Media owners and editors can exercise this type of censorship. SELF CENSORSHIP: individuals decide for themselves the information they will receive e.g. you turn the telly over because you dont want to watch something you find offensive.

TYPES of CENSORSHIP
1.GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP: (formal) Used by Governments to withhold information from citizens. Often used during wartime to protect soldiers/public. Used by the Department for Information during WW2. At one point the British Government considered taking over the BBC directly to control output

Modern Government Censorship

A recent news story suggested Google has received an alarming rise in number of censorship requests from Governments It said Spanish regulators asked Google to remove 270 links to blogs and newspaper articles critical of public figures. Google did not comply. Google was asked by Canadian officials to remove a YouTube video of a citizen urinating on his passport and flushing it down the toilet. It refused. Thai authorities asked Google to remove 149 YouTube videos for allegedly insulting the monarchy, a violation of Thailand's lsemajest law. The company complied with 70% of the requests. Pakistan asked Google to remove six YouTube videos that satirised its army and senior politicians. Google refused.

Do you think Government s should be requesting to have information removed or allow the internet to have complete freedom of speech?
Yes I think they should as some information publicly posted is against National security and the safety of citizens such as with wiki-leaks and the lives of personnel being endangered and documents which for obvious reasons should have not been posted so I think that if the information could endanger innocent lives and go against the grain then yes, however I think that things which would just make the government look bad because of idiocy they have done etc and in that sort of context then GO FREE SPEECH!. The public should be allowed to have freedom of speech and not worry about persecution if they say something that is offensive otherwise what is the point on freedom of speech and saying you live in a free democratic society if you are ok to say this but not this because its offensive and horrible.

Do you think there should be informal censorship of TV? Should there be certain things that should/should not be said at certain times of the day?
Yes. There is a reason why we dont and shouldnt advertise alcohol and junk food and why we dont have for example full on swearing or hard porn on during the day on day time television. For the benefits of the younger generation. Its about creating the atmosphere of safety, caring and overall good ambience for everyone to be around.

TYPES of CENSORSHIP
2. Informal censorship is used, operating through
independent regulatory bodies such as the PCC (Press Complaints Commission), Ofcom (Office of Communications) and the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).
These regulatory bodies often carry out after the event censorship after members of the public have complained. (The BBFC is slightly different as it issues age certificates for films, videos and games before release).

CENSORSHIP: FOR & AGAINST

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Arguments against:
It depicts the whole aspect of freedom People need accurate information in order to make choices It has not been proved that media material may corrupt or deprave Access to the internet has made censorship ineffective Prevents the spread of ideas and knowledge Encourages curiosity about censored material Usually associated with dictatorships, not progressive democracies Prevent information being given in biased ways to give us one side only

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Arguments for:
Security of the nation To prevent children and innocent people from being exposed to violence and scrutiny Protection of minors from pornographic material Prevents spread of harmful information Promotes good morals To protect the privacy of an individual

The Power of the Internet

We are no longer passive receivers of the media and are not restricted to making our views known anonymously or through face to face confrontation. Blogging has been seen on the net since the late 1990s and is estimated that there are over 100 million active bloggers worldwide. There is no effective way of controlling what is posted. DISCUSS THE PROBLEMS WHEN IT COMES TO BLOGGING Very biased as it tends to be a persons opinion and hence can lead to very inaccurate, misleading or one sided view of a certain issue. There isnt much censorship either, the individual is free to write as they wish be it national security issues, racist comments anything which can be good for freedom of speech but negative for other aspects.

LEVERSON ENQUIRY & Media Censorship...

On Monday 18th March 2013, a new press regulator would be introduced through Royal Charter with the power to order newspapers to publish immediate apologies for wrong doings (such as the phone hacking scandal) and to fine them up to 1m. There have been mentions that the press in times of law suits etc would cover all the legal issues from the complaintee regardless if they won or lost the case. The newspapers also have to agree to this, they can easily say no thanks and nothing can be done. Worries that the press will then be manipulated by the government in what it publishes no longer being a fee press. It is still undergoing changes but this is the very basic outline of it.