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Understanding Censorship: Definitions, Characteristics, and Forms

Explore the conceptual framework of censorship, including definitions, characteristics, and various forms of censorship. Delve into arguments for and against freedom of speech and different approaches to regulation.

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Understanding Censorship: Definitions, Characteristics, and Forms

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  1. Conceptual framework of censorship • Definitions • Censorship and regulation • Characteristics of censorship • Forms of censorship

  2. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

  3. Arguments in favour of freedom of speech Two groups of arguments: • ‘human rights’ or ‘individual’ arguments: Freedom of speech is vital for self-development of individuals; • ‘societal’ arguments: Freedom of speech is vital for democracy.

  4. Arguments in favour of restricting the freedom of speech • national security • territorial integrity • public safety • public order • public health and morals • the reputation or rights of others • confidential private information • the impartiality of legal proceedings • the public from crime.

  5. Two approaches to regulation • Content regulation – specific demand of press insitutions to cover certain kinds of issues, to cover them in a certain way, or to provide access to certain points of view; • Structural regulation – builds rules and constraints into the structure and organisation of the media taken as a whole (e.g. prohibition of cross-media ownership, subsidies to certain kind of publications to ensure plurality of ideas etc)

  6. “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their hearts there is unspoken - unspeakable! - fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse - a little tiny mouse! - of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.” Winston L Spencer CHURCHILL(1874-1965)

  7. Censorship is... ... the control over the flow of thought – over the content, forms and distribution of the public information and opinion, and a mechanism executing this control. Censorship, at present, refers to the examination of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports and other communication media for the purpose of altering or suppressingcontent regarded to be objectionable or offencive.

  8. Voltaire: “I detest what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.

  9. British Board of Film Classification Established in 1912 as British Board of Film Censors. Examines commercially released film and video production in the UK.

  10. Evolution of censorship Stage 1: The main threat – heresy; organised religion/the Church exercises censorship without the legal framework. Stage 2: The main threat – political and social instability. The State incorporates censorship into laws (Sedition Acts etc). Stage 3: Freedom of expression is protected by law. Censorship is exercised outside the legal framework.

  11. Censorship is: Preventive Restrictive Intrusive Destructive Forbidden by censorship book of an Estonian author in exile. Two hexagons on the top right corner classify the book as ‘especially dangerous’. Secret Hypocritical Prescriptive

  12. Forms of Censorship • Pre-publishing censorship (preventive) – examination of the content before making it public; • Post-publishing censorship (repressive) – examination of the content after making it public.

  13. Forms of Censorship • Passive censorship (within the conditions of institutionalised censorship) – avoiding deliberately topics, names etc that are politically sensitive and can hinder publishing; • Self-censorship (within the conditions of freedom of the press) – purposefully avoiding sensitive topics according to respective directions from politicians or authorities. • ‘Corporate censorship’- business interests prevail over public interest.

  14. Other forms of censorship depending on the object • Political censorship • Religious censorship • Postal CS • Theatre CS • Film Cs • Etc, etc, etc.

  15. Three universal commands of media business “Do whatever it takes to maximise audience; minimise costs; don’t embarrass big advertisers or the owners’ other interests” (John McManus, 1997: Who’s responsible for journalism?)

  16. Home assignment 1. Characterize current discussion on the Internet censorship. Deadline: Sept 28. 2. Make a summary of John Milton’s Areopagitica. http://darkwing.oregon.edu/~rbear/areopagitica.html Deadline: Sept. 28. 3. Reading: Who controls expression? In compendium (4). Sept. 21.

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