By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Redefining censorship Time for our annual look at stories ignored by the major media

Welcome to a compilation of 10 of the most significant stories that were inadequately reported or essentially ignored by the major news media this past year. The story, which was written by Amanda Witherell, a reporter for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, is coordinated with Project Censored, an annual media survey conducted by Sonoma State University researchers and students who spend the year patrolling obscure publications, national and international Web sites and mainstream news outlets. Alternative newsweeklies across the nation have run these stories for the past 31 years, and we are glad to do our part. It is a reminder of the basic freedoms we have from our 218-year-old judicial system and the need for the press to ensure they are not diminished.

You will find a theme this year — civil rights — and very direct criticisms of decisions made by the Bush administration in suspending elections, spying without warrants and dispatching federal troops to trump local cops or quell protests, to name a few.

Is the story critical? Yes. Is the writer paranoid? Maybe. Is the story a good read. Definitely, no matter which side of the political aisle you are on.

As with most of our stories, we want to challenge our readers to think differently and to question the motivation of those in leadership positions who direct policy. And this story does just that.

Thanks for reading.

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