You were remotely aware of this all along weren’t you? Does journalism represented by major news outlets in the US, require government censorship? Just how filtered is the news that we absorb in our daily lives? Is the mainstream really speaking for government on a large-scale?
In a shocking (maybe not so shocking) revelation we discover that The New York Times must acquiesce to political candidates, of whom are seeking election. Journalists cannot publish a story until the material is approved by the candidate it was written about. They deem this benevolent tactic as “quote approval”.
“Quote approval” is standard with the Obama campaign, as the story is deciphered and transferred via emails. The same standards apply to the Romney campaign as well.
And we wonder just how far this this oblique style of reporting has gone? Does this refer to the campaign trail, or is this common routine? Hmmm.
Does this only apply to The New York Times, or is this applicable to all news outlets? The report stated that “Bloomberg, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Reuters and The New York Times have all consented to interviews under such terms.” This is probably not the entire list either.
While no evidence of censorship is claimed, it is quite clear that the opposite is in fact the reality. How can we mention freedom of press when the press is not “free” to edit itself?
Let’s get the facts straight here, political censorship isn’t only implemented in Cuba, China, and North Korea. This seems to be the tacitly implied rule, which amounts to nothing but total hypocrisy. As you judge for yourself, aren’t these politicians and journalists practicing the same principles?
The Obama and Bush administrations are not the first to play this game. Many regimes have long used many forms of censorship, including Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Nicolae Ceaușescu of Romania. The so called capitalist nations are not immune from censorship.
The Bush administration was not an open form of government — “The Bush Administration has an obsession with secrecy,” says Representative Henry Waxman. “It has repeatedly rewritten laws and changed practices to reduce public and congressional scrutiny of its activities. The cumulative effect is an unprecedented assault on the laws that make our government open and accountable.”
Anonymity has dramatically increased to new levels with the Obama administration — It has quietly put into practice an ‘incomplete idea’ left over from the Bush II presidency: creating a de facto ‘presidential international assassination program.’ Court documents, evidence offered by Human Rights Watch and a special United Nations report allege that US citizens suspected of encouraging “terror” had been put on “death lists.”
Under their terms we might call this Project Quote Approval…
