Editorial: Ambiguities of censorship. An international perspective

Abstract

Thus, this new issue of Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture is specifically dedicated to an international perspective on various practices that go beyond official forms of censorship. Corporate pressures on media professionals, omissions and bias, under-reporting of controversial issues, sourcing constraints, lack of newsworthiness and self-censorship are all examples of free-speech restrictions. When we issued our Call for Papers some time ago we had expected a higher resonance from all over the world. Organizations that cover issues of censorship and related issues such as Reporters without Borders or Freedom House Index publish long lists of examples of direct censorship each year. So if these organizations highlight cases of direct censorship one wonders how many more cases of indirect censorship exist. It is these hidden and sometimes not at all obvious mechanisms that seem even more dangerous, as some of them are not even acknowledged publicly by journalists and editors who are affected by them in their daily work. It is even more difficult to look at this issue from the perspectives of readers and audience as they are often unaware of these subtleties.