Uncovering the Uncovered

[[M E D I A]] * Bush administration secrecy, increasing U.S. domestic surveillance, the “unprecedented dangers” many journalists now face on the job, and the environmental impact of strip mining all number among the 25 biggest stories of “social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported or self-censored by the country’s major national news media” during the last year. That’s the opinion of Project Censored, a 29-year-old media research group based at California’s Sonoma State University, which annually sifts through hundreds of articles submitted by “journalists, scholars, librarians, and concerned citizens around the world,” looking for stories that deserved greater play. The group’s top 10 selections are examined in some depth by the San Francisco Bay Guardian, but for a complete rundown, look here. Or buy the book-length version, Censored 2006: The Top 25 Censored Stories, by Peter Phillips and Project Censored (Seven Stories Press). Although this project has come under some criticism over the years for being “predictable,” “boring,” and “irrelevant,” there are still enough surprises in every year’s list to make you wonder at the state of the world--if not also worry about it.