Project Censored

Today's guests say that the National Park Service is betraying its mission at California's Point Reyes National Seashore by favoring legacy cattle ranches and dairies

over preservation of the land and the survival of the native Tule Elk. Peter Byrne and Will Carruthers also present examples of the local ranch and dairy businesses wielding

undue influence in the region's  politics, and corrupting a local land-preservation nonprofit. They add that only the presence of an independent weekly newspaper

has enabled the public to be aware of these problems.

 

Notes:

 

Peter Byrne is an investigative journalist who has written on a wide array of topics, from science and medicine to public finance.

His article “Apocalypse Cow” can be read at www.pacificsun.com. All of Byrne's work can be found at www.PeterByrne.info

Will Carruthers is the staff reporter for the Pacific Sun and North Bay Bohemian weekly newspapers, serving California's Marin,

Sonoma and Napa counties.

Mickey's guest for the hour is John K. Wilson, author of a recent report about freedom of the press on US college campuses. They speak about the findings of Wilson's report,

as well as the multiple threats to journalism and freedom of speech on campuses. Wilson also revisits some of the landmark events of the past generation's media history,

including the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and the rise of right-wing talk radio.

Notes:

 

John K. Wilson writes for the Academe Blog, a web page of the American Association of University Professors. His report on press freedom on campus can be found at freespeechcenter.universityofcalifornia.edu/fellows-19-20/wilson-research   Wilson has also written eight books, including "The Most Dangerous Man In America: Rush Limbaugh's Assault on Reason."

 

Music-break information:

Although a new administration has taken office in Washington, the administrators of the world's wealth have not changed.

Project Censored presents a rebroadcast of "Giants: The Global Power Elite." Project Censored Show cofounder Peter Phillips returned to the show

as a guest in August 2018 to discuss his book about the 'transnational corporate class.' The product of years of research, "Giants" identifies

the institutions and individuals who manage trillions of dollars of assets, and wield the political might that such riches confer.

As the Biden administration takes charge, observers of politics might watch for representatives of the 'Giants' on the Biden team.

Notes:

 

Peter Phillips is Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University in California.

He's also the retired director of Project Censored, and cofounder of the Project Censored radio show.

"Giants" is his 18th book, and is published by Seven Stories Press.

 

Music-break information:

1) "Lucifer" by the Alan Parsons Project

2) "Lunar Sea" by Camel

3) "The Watcher" by Dave Holland

On January 6, 2021, mobs of violent right-wingers invaded the U.S. Capitol building, some of them threatening the lives of members of Congress.

On January 13, Mickey Huff hosted an online panel discussion "Coup d'Trump," about the attack on the Capitol and its implications, as well as a critique

of how corporate and corporate-sponsored media framed the events of January 6. This week's Project Censored Show presents the panelists'

remarks, as well as their responses to questions posed by members of a Zoom audience.

 

Notes:

The panelists were Mnar Muhawish Adley of Mint Press News, Robin Andersen of Fordham University, Nicholas Baham III and Nolan Higdon of California State University,

East Bay, and Allison Butler of the University of Massachusetts. The complete discussion of over 90 minutes can be viewed at www.ProjectCensored.org 

 

Music-break music: "Underture" by the Who

Mickey's first guest is veteran technology entrepreneur John Marshall. In his new book "Free is Bad," he contends that internet users'

expectation that everything online should be provided free has been a disservice to themselves  and to society, because it makes advertisers,

not internet users, the real customers of the tech firms. In the second half of the show, History and Media Studies lecturer Nolan Higdon

returns to the program for a discussion about what the January 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol means for the media and for the country. 

Notes:

John Marshall has 40 years' experience in the high-technology industry, including starting several companies; his specialty is advertising technology.

The web site for his new book is www.freeisbad.com. Nolan Higdon teaches at California State University, East Bay and is a frequent contributor

to Project Censored. His latest book, “The Anatomy of Fake News,” is published by the University of California Press.

 

Music-Break information:

1) "Underture" by the Who

 

2) "Long Red" by Mountain

 

3) "Wot Gorilla?" by Genesis

This week's program begins with Kevin Gosztola's analysis of the recent UK court rulings about Julian Assange;

although the judge refused to allow Assange's extradition to the U.S., Gosztola says press freedom suffered severe setbacks in the case.

In the second half-hour, Michael D. Knox explains the activities of the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation, and its efforts to confront the militaristic nature of U.S. culture.

 

 

Notes:

Kevin Gosztola is the managing editor of the news web site www.Shadowproof.com .  He has covered the Julian Assange legal proceedings in the UK

from the beginning, as well as other press-freedom and whistleblower cases. Michael D. Knox is a retired psychologist, and the founder and chair of

the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation, www.USPeaceMemorial.org

In the first half of the program, Aaron Good summarizes an article he co-wrote about the September 9, 2001 murder

of Afghan militia leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, and its connection to the subsequent September 11th attacks and the US occupation of Afghanistan.

Then English professor Adam Bessie examines the implications of the massive change from in-person to remote instruction at community colleges,

in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

 

Notes:

Aaron Good is a history instructor in the Philadelphia area. His article with Peter Dale Scott,

"Was the Now-Forgotten Murder of One Man on September 9, 2001 a Crucial Pre-condition for 9/11?"

can be found at www.covertactionmagazine.com   

 

Adam Bessie teaches English at Diablo Valley College, and writes about education and social justice.

His article, "Going Remote: Flattening the Curriculum" appears in Project Censored's 2021 book.

 

 

Music-Break information:

1) "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring

 

2) "Wall Street Shuffle" by 10cc

 

3) "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range

In the first half of the show, Sharyl Attkisson shares ideas from her new book “Slanted. “ She contends that in recent years

corporate and government forces have dramatically expanded their intervention into the conduct of journalism, to the extent

that some types of investigative stories can no longer be reported.

 

Then British reporter Rachael Jolley joins the show to explain how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the work of reporters –

in Europe and elsewhere. She notes that even while the pandemic has squeezed media outlets' revenue, communities are searching

for reliable local news more than they previously did.

 

Notes:

 

Sharyl Attkisson has reported for CBS News, CNN and PBS. She now hosts her own Sunday program “Full Measure”

on Sinclair Broadcasting. Her web site is www.sharylattkisson.com 

 

Rachael Jolley wrote for several British newspapers, and also was editor-in-chief of the Index on Censorship magazine.

She is now an editor at Eurozine, and also teaches at Sheffield University.

 

Music-Break information:

In an online speech delivered one week after the election, journalist Chris Hedges spoke about the much deeper forces

of political and economic decay afflicting the US. This week's Project Censored Show contains Hedges' complete speech,

titled "The Culture of Despair."

 

Notes:

 

Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist with a long career as a foreign correspondent around the world.

He hosts the program "On Contact" for RT Television, and writes online at www.scheerpost.com  His books include

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, Death of the Liberal Class, and most recently, America: The Farewell Tour.

 

Music-Break information:

 

 “The Truth Won't Fade Away” by Procol Harum

Project Censored's new annual volume is now available. "State of the Free Press 2021"

includes the well-known 'Top 25' censored stories, as well as many additional chapters of media analysis.

Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth are the co-editors of this volume; today on the Project Censored Show

they discuss the new book, and also explain Project Censored's analytical approach.

 

Notes:

 

Andy Lee Roth is associate director of Project Censored, and coordinator of its Campus Affiliates Program.

He holds a PhD in Sociology from UCLA and has published widely on media issues.

 

Music-Break information:

 

the Project Censored Show:

 

Host: Mickey Huff

Producer: Anthony Fest