Censorship : How should all stakeholders in the creative media industry deal with it - Book Report/Review Example

Download file to see previous pages... Censorship can be dangerous, yet, in extreme cases, it is also import in protecting the public from harmful or misleading information. This is why this issue must be addressed with extreme care. The industry can, for instance, come up with a neutral body that will mediate between various stakeholders who participate in the industry such as regulators and the content producers. Introduction Censorship is the prohibition of certain information from being given away either for it being politically inappropriate or for being obscene or for any other reason that may make the information be deemed not good for public consumption. Censorship is a long lived issue, and in many jurisdictions, it has been used by so many governments as a way to control the media (Magoon, 2010). Censorship has been used even way before the mass media was invented. However, with the mass media increasing the rate at which the public could be fed with information from independent sources (independent from the government), governments from around the world became concerned and started censoring materials. Literature Review The biggest problem with censorship is the fact it can be used both for the wrong reason and the right reason (Magoon, 2010). While censorship may be useful in preventing such negative content as child pornography from being produced and delivered to the public, it can also be seen as having various aspects, which are negative and not agreeable. In many cases, government authorities have been seen to use their power and authority to unfairly control the media. The creative media industry has been the most hit by these forms of censorship, and it is necessary for this industry to develop ways through which it can deal with Censorship. The creative media industry, in its attempt to deal with censorship, must first look at the following four essential issues. Censorship is not entirely negative In dealing with censorship, there is a single crucial issue to take to account in that censorship is not entirely negative (Burns, 2006). The reason today’s censorship is a critical issue is mainly because most media houses always see government authorities who enforce censorship as being unfair and full of selfish interest. A thorough look at the censorship, however, may reveal that some types of information, which may be better off censored and not allowed to be given to the public. While individual media houses or persons in the creative media industry may argue that they are careful in the way they give information, they should admit and agree that it is possible that someone in the media may end up doing a dumb thing and abusing their right of speech. The creative media industry as an industry must admit that if such a thing ever happens, the damage caused becomes part of their responsibility, and this may leave them in a highly vulnerable situation (Straubhaar, 2007). Censorship, on the other hand, may help to avoid such a situation. Not only does censorship help in avoiding such a bad situation, it also helps in protecting the public from ...Download file to see next pagesRead More