The ability of the military to censor what the media puts out to the public is greatly needed in the Unites States. A lot of times the media grabs hold of information and makes a huge deal out of it, even if it’s the simplest thing. And it may not all be true. Every news channel wants to cover the “big story,” and they’re going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Whether it’s by changing or adding false information, or attempting the make a bigger deal out of the story to draw more attention and viewers. As Marcus Luttrell says in his book, Lone Survivor, “…the media thinks it's absolutely fine to take a wild guess at the truth and then tell a couple of million people it's cast-iron fact” (331). People will most likely believe it and start talking about it more. A lot of times, when it comes to military events or secrets that get out, military lives can be put in danger, as well as our own. Not everything needs to be censored, just the things that happen with our military that could be dangerous to us. Without censorship, enemy spies or terrorists can grab hold of some of the information and use it against us, the public won’t have mixed emotions on whether or not to support the military at the time, and lives will be saved every day when we keep our military secrets contained.
One of the biggest reasons for the military to censor news stories is to keep the information contained away from enemy spies or terrorists. Information spreads quickly these days with the internet and all the other new technology. Spies or terrorists inside the country have access to most news channels and can see what’s going on, and everyone in the world with an internet connection can see what is put online from here. Who knows, “the enemy mi...
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...of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.
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In the Supreme Court case of the New York Times Co. vs. United States there is a power struggle. This struggle includes the entities of the individual freedoms against the interests of federal government. It is well known that the first amendment protects the freedom of speech, but to what extent does this freedom exist. There have been instances in which speech has been limited; Schenck vs. United States(1919) was the landmark case which instituted such limitations due to circumstances of “clear and present danger”. Many have noted that the press serves as an overseer which both apprehends and guides national agenda. However, if the federal government possessed the ability to censor the press would the government restrain itself? In the case of the Pentagon Papers the necessities of individual freedoms supersedes the scope of the national government.
“When a country does experience major conflict, such as civil wars or major regime-challenging protests, press freedoms are more closely associated with nonviolent conflict compared to violent conflict” (Why Freedom of Speech Matters). Freedom of expression gives people the chance to speak out toward their government, and express their issues. This makes it simpler for the government to respond to them, decreasing the risk of violence. “I found that when comparing instances of major nonviolent conflict (think Tunisia protests during Arab Spring) and violent conflict (think Syrian civil war), higher levels of press freedoms were strong predictors of nonviolent conflict over violent conflict” (Why Freedom of Speech Matters). With this in mind, there could be more violence toward the government or between the people of the United states, if freedom of expression did not exist.
...republication question for reporter: Is this information I would like to have if I were the enemy?” (PBS – Censorship par. 2). Big secrets were kept for years from its own people as well as from other countries such as the atom bomb and about the health of Franklin Roosevelt. The media and government encouraged families to write their loved ones about anything but the war. While “civil servants were reading and censoring a million pieces of mail weekly, especially those to or from POW’s and other internees” (PBS – Censorship par 7).
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”(Albert Einstein) The motto of the media is “if it bleeds it leads”, the only things to make the front page are things that tarnish the image of people. In time of war the media will never print stories of great achievements of soldiers but the casualties or the “politically incorrect”. In war there is no such thing as politically incorrect and there is a thin red line between whats moral and unmoral, especially in Vietnam.
An image has the explicit power of telling a story without saying any words, that’s the power behind a photo. A photo tends to comes with many sides to a story, it has the ability to manipulate and tell something differently. There is a tendency in America, where explicit photos of war or anything gruesome occurring in the world are censored for the public view. This censorship hides the reality of our world. In “The War Photo No One Would Publish” Torie DeGhett centers her argument on censorship, detailing the account of graphic Gulf War photo the American press refused to publish. (73) DeGhett argues that the American public shouldn’t be restrained from viewing graphic content of the war occurring around the world. She believes that incomplete
“Murrow, McCarthy and the media frontier analyzed” also discusses how “we as a country walked into the war in Iraq without the media doing its job…It may be official blacklisting or maybe not, but deception is just as possible today in different forms (Sasanow, 3).”
Gerbner, G. (1993). Defense and the Media in Time of Limited War. Armed Forces and Society, v20, pp.147-9.
-Marshall McLuhan, 1975 Newspaper reporters and television commentators were free to question the wisdom of fighting the war When the war initially began, the US marines were backed fully buy the people of America. Hundreds of men volunteered to join the army and felt that this was their duty to protect their country. But as the war dragged on the press soon began to change its point of view and was eventually accused of being 'un patriotic' and even guilty of 'helping the enemy'. There were various reasons why public opinion changed as the war hauled through for such a long period of time, leaving lasting scars in the history of the world. Possibly one on the most significant and emotional events which occurred in Vietnam was far before US marines were actually fighting a guerilla war in Vietnam.
Convinced that the society needs public broadcasters, Taras recalls the event of the internment ceremony, a memorial dedicated to the Canadian soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan, on June 7th, 2006. The government attempted to censor the event. Their re...
Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
Nowadays, the media uses bias, distortion, and censorship as a way to manipulate public opinion. Censorship alone is becoming a huge issue due to technological advances. What would have been censored ten years ago, may not be censored today and if it were still censored there would be a way to find it on the internet. In a blog post by University of Central Florida student Diara Cornish titled Media Censorship, Now and Then discusses censorship within media and the effect that media has on children of this technological era. As time goes on censorship along with media has evolved, however; we still come across issues with what should be censored and what should not be. In the source titled “The War Photo No One Would Publish”, by Tori Rose DeGhett we come to understand that censorship guidelines may actually be hiding valuable information from the public. Censorship came about as a way to shield those who are vulnerable from something that may cause them trauma, but this in turn only dulls and hinders the development of an emotional understanding. Guidelines
The year is 2006,watching TV, you flip through the various news stations to learn about the recent news in Iraq, the majority of the news simply says that ‘x’ amount of soldiers or marines were killed in such and such attack. You don’t like what you are hearing so you go online to read an independent embedded (embedded refers to news reporters who are attached to military units) reporters story. Online you read that two new schools were built, and the Iraqis, supported by US forces, led an attack to capture an insurgent leader. The big media corporations such as FOX, NBC, CNN, and many others distort the facts that are on the ground. Small, mostly independent, reporters generally try to get a first-hand account of the situation on the ground.
Minimizing harm done by journalism in times of war is a difficult task. Naturally, there are bits of information that the government needs to keep secret for one reason or another. There is also the danger of victims' stories being exploited and sensationalized. The SPJ's Code of Ethics recommends that journalists should "treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings worthy of respect" (Society). During the extreme...
Censorship according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press can be defined as, “To remove anything offensive from books, films, etc., or to remove parts considered unsuitable from private letters, especially ones sent during war or from a prison”(Cambridge Dictionary). Censorship in the news and in the media takes many forms in todays fast paced world. Even with the slightly leak in information or even misleading information could cause todays world to be turned on its head and can cause people to interpret the issue in many ways which could have numerous implications. This is why such information is filtered by some governments around the world before it is aired or printed. There are countless arguments as to why or why not information should be censored as each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Censorship impacts people ability to choose freely as it is controls ideas and thoughts and thus influences their freedom of expression or their to express their views on issues, ideologies or even practice their faith.
Censorship affects our society in many different ways, it affects the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the books we read, and many other aspects of our everyday lives. Even though many might argue that censorship doesn't really have a place in a society that emphases freedom of speech and the freedom to express oneself, but censorship is an essential and needed part of our growing society, it's needed in the television industry, the Internet, and the music industry. Censorship helps to make our world a better place because it creates a better environment for us to live in.