Product Description

"Carefully orchestrated. . . . This well-researched work is highly recommended for most libraries."-Library Journal (starred review)

"Buy it, read it, act on it. Our future depends on the knowledge this collection of suppressed stories allows us."-The San Diego Review

"Required reading for broadcasters, journalists, and well-informed citizens."-Los Angeles Times

The best-selling Censored series highlights the year's twenty-five most important underreported news stories, alerting readers to negligence of corporate media and the resurgence of alternative media.

Peter Phillips, director of Project Censored, is an associate professor of sociology at Sonoma State University. He is known for his pieces in the alternative press and independent newspapers nationwide, such as Z Magazine and Social Policy.

Project Censored, founded in 1976 by Carl Jensen, has as its principal objective the advocacy for and protection of First Amendment rights and the freedom of information in the United States.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101755 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Peter Phillips, director of Project Censored, is an associate professor of sociology at Sonoma State University. He is known for his op-ed pieces in the alternative press and independent newspapers nationwide, such as Z Magazine and Social Policy.

Customer Reviews

Both Frightening and Inspiring
This is another great Project Censored Yearbook. This book contains important stories that are lergely overlooked by the mainstream media even though these stories have great relevance toward public policy and the future of America and the World. The Yearbook also contains articles on media analysis and updates of previous Project Censored stories.

Book is well written
The first rater didn't seem to like what was published. That's ok. But to criticize the book itself for what the media is or isn't doing is giving the book an unfair rating. It seems like they were rating the issues. The book well-written, easy to use and clear. I liked the follow-ups given to some stories. There is information about last year's censored stories. Good book and good reading.

Should be mandatory reading
Project censored is the brainchild of Dr. Carl Jensen, a former professor of Communication Studies at Sonoma State University, who in 1976 launched the effort to report the news of social and national significance not reported in the national-mainstream media. Every year, over 200 faculty and students pour over 700 underreported but important stories submitted by librarians, journalists, scholars et al. and select the top 25 to submit to a panel of judges before publication.

Censored 2008 is another magnificent book that every US citizen should read, including the social elitists and political conservatives who are, to no one's surprise, the staunchest critics of this effort.

How many Americans are aware that the $12 billion newly printed and shrink wrapped $100 bills flown to Iraq by Ambassador Paul Bremer are unaccounted for? During Bremer's questioning in February 2006, most news media were too busy covering the death of Anna Nicole Smith rather than airing the hearing on this important issue.

And how many US citizens are aware that the construction of the US Embassy in Baghdad with a price tag of over $700 million was awarded to a Kuwaiti company in a largely political decision as a show of appreciation to Kuwait for its support of the US invasion of Iraq?

Unfortunately, various 9/11 conspiracy theories were included in "Censored 2008", which, when put together would implicate the CIA, Larry Silverstein, the owner of the 3 collapsed WTC buildings, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), CNN, BBC and Bin Laden himself (colluding with the CIA?!). Two of Project Censored's esteemed judges resigned in protest as a result of the publication of these questionable theories in 2007.

Ignoring this hiccup, Censored 2008 and efforts like it are necessary in any society to publicize news that is either deliberately ignored or falsified. It is the job of the citizens of every country to dig deeper than what is fed to them through "for profit" news agencies to ensure democracy is not tampered with.

Incidentally, I found it peculiar that in the last chapter, Greg Guma accuses Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America", of pandering to ratings. All the while, Cronkite's endorsement can be seen in the title section of Project Censored's web site. I guess project censored truly tells it like it is, but I doubt Mr. Cronkite read pages 355-356 ("The Power to Misinform") before he gave it his stamp of approval.

Warning: Reading too many pages of this book in one sitting can be depressing if you're not familiar with the evils that men do.