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Censorship is necessary in modern society
Censorship vs freedom of expression
Effects of censorship in media
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Recommended: Censorship is necessary in modern society
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of expression, and open access to media, are as fundamental to the survival of Progress as the sun and rain are to the survival of planet Earth. Yet censorship remains a traditional response of any group that finds itself offended at another's message or creative indulgence.
The argument that because they serve the "public interest," media should willingly accept a moral arbiter to decide what will and what will not be disseminated is both uninformed and dangerous. The biggest problem is that nobody will have the opportunity to vote for the people charged with determining what information is left on the cutting room floor. Worse yet, certain lower life forms with an eye on world domination will always find ways to apply this primitive form of babysitting to their own sinister ends.
Because the new communications paradigm calls only for media to get bigger-not better-access to media is more costly. As corporate interests pool their resources to control the most print and broadcast outlets allowable by law, certain news stories will surely be censo...
Michael Parenti (2002) declares media in the United States is no longer “free, independent, neutral and objective.” (p. 60). Throughout his statement, Parenti expresses that media is controlled by large corporations, leaving smaller conglomerates unable to compete. The Telecommunications Act, passed in 1996, restricted “a single company to own television stations serving more than one-third of the U.S. public,” but is now overruled by greater corporations. (p. 61). In his opinion, Parenti reveals that media owners do not allow the publishing of stories that are not beneficial and advantageous. Parenti supports his argument very thoroughly by stating how the plutocracy takes control over media in multiple ways: television, magazines, news/radio broadcasting, and other sources.
The right to freedom of expression can be described as a war. It is a
Censorship is a great temptation, particularly when we see something that offends or frightens us. At such times, our best defense is to remember what J. M. Coetzee writes in Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship. "By their very nature, censors wound their own vision when they restrict what others can see. The one who pronounces the ban ... becomes, in effect, the blind one, the one at the center of the ring in the game of blind man's bluff."
Imagine a time when one could be fined, imprisoned and even killed for simply speaking one’s mind. Speech is the basic vehicle for communication of beliefs, thoughts and ideas. Without the right to speak one’s mind freely one would be forced to agree with everything society stated. With freedom of speech one’s own ideas can be expressed freely and the follower’s belief will be stronger. The words sound so simple, but without them the world would be a very different place.
Blair, L. (1996). Strategies for Dealing with Censorship. Art Education, 49(5, Essential Questions), pp. 57-61.
"Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself." The basic rights guaranteed to Americans in the Bill of Rights is what holds the United States together. When Salman Rushdie wrote Guardian, he knew this. Unfortunately, the majority of congress and the President himself have forgotten the basic rights of Americans. When President William J. Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act that was proposed but the 104th Congress, he severely limited the rights of Americans on the Internet. The internet, just like books, magazines, artwork, and newspapers, should not be censored.
Witherbee, Amy and Cushman, C. Ames. "Counterpoint: Sometimes Censorship is Necessary." 2011. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 March 2012.
Murrow states “one of the basic troubles with radio and television news is that both instruments have grown up as an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news” (7). Top management does not have time to give mature and thoughtful consideration to the abundant problems that confront those who are charged with the responsibility for news and public affairs, but they still do any ways and put little to none effort towards doing so. According to Murrow if there is a disagreement between the public interest and the corporate interest it will always go the way of the corporate almost every
In the United States, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in which it states, “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech.” Now, nearly 250 years into the future, the exact thing that the Founding Fathers were afraid of is starting to happen. Today, our freedom of speech is being threatened through different forces, such as the tyranny of the majority, the protection of the minority, and the stability of the society. Now, colleges and universities in the United States today are also trying to institute a code upon its students that would bar them from exercising their right to speak freely in the name of protecting minorities from getting bullied. This brings us into
Censorship, defined as the act of destroying, suppressing or withholding information otherwise intended for the public, is detrimental to the community in a number of ways and has no place in a democratic society. Firstly, it is detrimental to the progression of social ethics, morals and ideals and limits diversity in society while prolonging ignorance. Secondly, it is a breach of freedom of expression, free speech and the free press. It will be demonstrated in this essay that censorship does happen in Australia, that it is not beneficial to society, and that it should be replaced with a system of management where members of the public will always have a choice as to whether or not they can view material intended for the public. Censorship in Australia comes about in a few ways.
Thesis: Although some people believe that censorship is adequate to select what things does the society will be good and can live around it while others believe that there should be no censorship because it takes away your right of expression of freedom.
First off, the media serves as an authoritative power. It strikes the public as informative, knowledgeable and some may even go as far to say that to audiences, the media is omniscient. With this being said, it can be noted that the media serves a power even higher than itself: major corporations. The communication industry acts as a vehicle of promotion for ten major corporations. According to excerpts taken from Stuart A. Kallen’s At Issue: Media Bias, Robert W. McChesney discusses how power operates in our society. We are dominated by 10 transitional conglomerates: Disney, AOL, Time Warner, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi Universal, Sony, Liberty, Bertelsmann, AT&T, Comcast, General Electric (NBC). These greatly impact media sectors, and based upon this reading I have come to believe that since these corporations are sponsoring and/or controlling news providers and what is being reported, the media is catering to big-time companies. McChesney infers how ironic it is that if the First Amendment grants us the freedom of press, then why do we need permission of the tyrannical billionaires in control of cable channels, books, magazines, radio stations, billboards, TV stations,...
... small media reforms (like public journalism) will be enough to reduce the commercial and corporate imperatives driving our existing media systems (Hackett and Zhao, 1998, p. 235). Instead, a fundamental reform of the entire system is needed, together with a wider institutional reform of the very structures the media systems work within, our democracies. This will be a difficult task, due to powerful vested interests benefiting from the status quo, including media, political and economic elites. Reforms will need to be driven by campaigns mobilising public support across the political spectrum, to enable the citizens of the world to have a media system that works to strengthen democratic principles as opposed to undermining them. This task is challenging, but it will become easier once people begin to understand the media’s role in policymaking within our democracies.
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events.
Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others. There are varieties of other definitions but all have in common the concept of withholding information and/or resources from those who seek it. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html)