Censorship is a very murky subject. Particularly because it's difficult to provide decent content, without infringing on people's rights to choose for themselves. In the video provided on KSOL, it talks about repealing the "bleeping out" of indecent words on broadcasts and prime time shows. The commentators on the video insist that this law is outdated and should be repealed and presents the argument that parents can control what is watched and taken in by their children. This is also the number one argument in "The Internet's Free Speech Moment" and an article about the Internet being held to the "strictest jurisdiction".
I found a website with a list of several supposed breaking stories with proof that were kept from the mainstream media. http://www.wanttoknow.info/mediacorruption details the accounts of several influential newscasters who supposedly had stories that were of vital importance that were threatened or fired if they did not back down and leave the story be. Or sanitize said story to the networks' liking.
I'm somewhat torn as to the censorship. I believe each person has a right to determine the influx of content into their lives. However, I do not agree with extensive cursing, sexual acts, invasion of privacy, and the inclusion of graphic details or images. A major issues, as stated above, is that of children. There are substantial arguments against censorship because there are so many ways for parents to control media for their children. According to an article by kidshealth.org, the average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want. Violent acts are portrayed by the "good guys" or "heroes". Even though kids are taught by their parents that it's not right to hit, television says it's OK to bite, hit, or kick if you're the good guy. Risky Behaviors are also promoted. TV is full of programs and commercials that depict risky behaviors (such as drinking alcohol, doing drugs, smoking cigarettes, and having premarital sex) as cool, fun, and exciting. Studies have shown that teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who don't watch sexually explicit shows. A recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) found that youth exposure to alcohol ads on TV increased by 30% from 2001 to 2006. Kids who watch 5 or more hours of TV per day are far more likely to begin smoking cigarettes than those who watch less than the recommended 2 hours a day. Due to the "product placement" in movies and popular shows.
These are just a few things backing the massive effect media has on consumer life. Some of these programs can be controlled; but not all. These statistics also hold true for adults. An article written by New Media Warrior stated: When your watch TV, your brain enters a stage called alpha state (8 to 12 HZ to be exact), a similar state we experience when we sleep or when we enter hypnosis. If you remember this is the same state hypnotists and professional psychologists use to implant ideas such as to stop smoking, or to lose weight. Those are the same methods of suggestion used by television. This effect is also been called “mind fog.” Therefore, all of the things, even we watch as adults impact our lives heavily. The divorce rate in this country is astronomical. It's no wonder with the laze fare attitude we place on affairs, pre-marital sex, sport sex, multiple partners, etc. If you're in a sleeping/hypnotic type state, the more you watch, the less sensitized you become to these acts and are more likely to commit them to memory of a pleasant sort. The same for violence, cursing, the treatment of family and others, the list goes on and on.
Censorship is not meant to take away the rights of citizens. It is there to help protect them. An article on About.com detailed the different areas in which media censorship arose and is constructed to help. Protection of your privacy is a big one. Would you want news camera crews filming you through your windows because you refused to answer a question? By law the cannot show that shot due to censorship. It censors graphic images and details such as when someone is murdered. If your family was killed by BTK, would you want intricate verbal paintings and renditions of how your family was found and how it was done, and photos and video all over the mainstream media? Probably not. It's also in place for security. Things from the military that should not be public knowledge. These things don't just protect you, but your country and families as well. Some censorship also helps to hide political biases.
So in this lengthy and somewhat difficult argument, censorship has it's place. There are countries who participate in censorship of mainstream media already; China and Iran are two of them. The US is always so concerned about China being ahead of us in the education field. Did we ever stop to look at the reasons and statistics surrounding this? Partly it is because of China's emphasis and values. But maybe censorship of media causes kids not to want to watch, and when they do it has value. In as study written by James U. McNeal, Texas A& M University, U.S.A. Mindy F. Ji, Texas A& M University, U.S.A. The function of mass media for Chinese children will be primarily educational rather than entertainment. Chinese parents instill in their children at a very early age the belief that a good education is one of the most worthy goals (Shao and Herbig, 1994). The parents try to insure that virtually every activity their children undertake has some contribution to learning. Therefore, we expect that children will look to the media primarily for education, or useful information, and only secondarily for entertainment. During the time of this study there were approximately 114 television sets per 100 urban households (Beijing Statistical Bureau, 1996). Given that there is one television set per household, television viewing is mainly a family activity and a recent study confirms this showing that family television viewing is near the top of the list of parents’ desired weekend activities (McNeal and Ji, 1996. Thus, we would expect the parents to focus on educational programming when the children are viewing with them.
Some of this attributes to responsible parenting. I'm not advocating that children shouldn't be allowed free time and to just be kids, however, TV has a profound impact on them and us as a whole that we should not ignore. The same impacts and effects are seen from the interent, video games, social websites, and the like.
As to the question of whether or not it is the job of the government to censor these things or the individual consumer themselves, that is a little more troubling. I believe that the government should look at all of the problems we're having today. Correlate that with the TV and content of said programs, and decide for themselves whether or not the American people as a whole are remaining unaffected by what they allow networks and media to release. However, I also believe each person should be responsible for themselves and govern whether or not that's really something they want to promote to others, their children, and their families. Several cases have been presented here to negate that you can control what your mind retains while intaking different aspects of media take a hint and limit it.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html#
http://www.newmediawarrior.net/2012/07/how-television-affects-your-brain/
http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=11494
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