The World According to Oatney

Censorship That Isn't?

To say that the paper doesn't engage in censorship is at the least an exercise in semantics and at the most is a disingenuous statement. The truth is that the News Sentinel is able to censor because it is a private entity, but it does engage in censorship. McElroy and others at the paper can call it what they like, but if it looks like censorship, and it prevents someone from expressing their views, censorship is precisely what it is. Yes, the News Sentinel is free to censor others because it is a private entity. As a community news organ, this right to censor should be exercised not only with a great deal of discernment, but should be done very sparingly-and perhaps only when dealing with foul language. E.W. Scripps may own the News Sentinel, but it is Knoxville's only remaining major newspaper and in a very real sense it belongs to the larger community.

Labels: Blogging, Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 12:55 AM