Project Censored, a media research project operating out of Sonoma State University in California has spent several years looking at media accountability and how the freedom of the press aids democracy:

At Project Censored, we examine the coverage of news and information important to the maintenance of a healthy and functioning democracy. We define Modern Censorship as the subtle yet constant and sophisticated manipulation of reality in our mass media outlets. On a daily basis, censorship refers to the intentional non-inclusion of a news story – or piece of a news story – based on anything other than a desire to tell the truth. Such manipulation can take the form of political pressure (from government officials and powerful individuals), economic pressure (from advertisers and funders), and legal pressure (the threat of lawsuits from deep-pocket individuals, corporations, and institutions).

The latest edition of Project Censored is in and available on Amazon:

Here's this year's top 25 stories:

• 1. US Congress Sells Out to Wall Street
• 2. US Schools are More Segregated Today than in the 1950s
• 3. Toxic Waste Behind Somali Pirates
• 4. Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
• 5. Europe Blocks US Toxic Products
• 6. Lobbyists Buy Congress
• 7. Obama’s Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past
• 8. Bailed out Banks and America’s Wealthiest Cheat IRS Out of Billions
• 9. US Arms Used for War Crimes in Gaza
• 10. Ecuador Declares Foreign Debt Illegitimate
• 11. Private Corporations Profit from the Occupation of Palestine
• 12. Mysterious Death of Mike Connell—Karl Rove’s Election Thief
• 13. Katrina’s Hidden Race War
• 14. Congress Invested in Defense Contracts
• 15. World Bank’s Carbon Trade Fiasco
• 16. US Repression of Haiti Continues
• 17. The ICC Facilitates US Covert War in Sudan
• 18. Ecuador’s Constitutional Rights of Nature
• 19. Bank Bailout Recipients Spent to Defeat Labor
• 20. Secret Control of the Presidential Debates
• 21. Recession Causes States to Cut Welfare
• 22. Obama’s Trilateral Commission Team
• 23. Activists Slam World Water Forum as a Corporate-Driven Fraud
• 24. Dollar Glut Finances US Military Expansion
• 25. Fast Track Oil Exploitation in Western Amazon

Walter Cronkite covering the Apollo 11 landing, July 1969. Part 1--watch Part 2 and 3 here.

Walter Cronkite's death this week really brought into sharp focus for me just how much we've suffered journalistically since Cronkite retired in 1981. Gone are the days where we can view our news media as fulfilling their obligations as the Fourth Estate and using the freedom of the press to hold DC accountable for their actions, as originally envisioned by Jefferson:

"No government ought to be without censors, and where the press is free, no one ever will. If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defence. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting out the truth whether in religion, law or politics. I think it as honorable to the government neither to know nor notice its sycophants or censors, as it would be undignified and criminal to pamper the former and persecute the latter."

Sadly, it appears that all we have in the media now is sycophants and censors and very little--if any--free press. And our democracy is mortally crippled by it.

As for this Sunday's offerings, if you are sick as I am of the poor downtrodden privileged white men threatened by Sonia Sotomayor, I don't recommend watching Sen. Jeff Sessions on State of the Union. WH Budget Director Peter Orszag will be making two appearances to reassure us that all is going along with the stimulus plan and the Goldman Sachs bonus bonanza is proof that it's working. And we're still talking health care on The Chris Matthews Show and with HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius on Meet the Press. But what I'm looking forward to--space geek that I am--is Buzz Aldrin and Sen. John Glenn reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

ABC's "This Week" - Pre-empted by British Open golf tournament.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.; former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Clarence Page, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks and Kelly O'Donnell. Topics: Is the cost of health care reform President Obama's greatest vulnerability? Who got the better deal out of the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton coalition? Meter Questions: Will Obama sign a health care reform law this year? YES: 12
NO: 0; Will the Republicans support a health care bill with new taxes?
YES: 7 NO: 5.

CNN's "State of the Union" - White House Budget Director Peter Orszag; Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; Rev. Jesse Jackson.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Rwandan President Paul Kagame sits down with Fareed to discuss his nation's 15 year journey from genocide to economic growth and autocratic, but stable governance.

"Fox News Sunday" - Orszag; Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.; astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

(Senator Joseph McCarthy R-Wisconsin - 1954)

March 9th marks the 55th anniversary of the now-famous showdown between Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy that night in 1954. Anyone who has seen the excellent 2005 film "Good Night and Good Luck" will know the story surrounding this milestone in broadcasting. If you haven't seen it, it's well worth taking a look. But in the meantime, here's the real thing, as it happened. It's been edited down to conform to the 10 minute maximum from YouTube, but the essence is all there.

Bluster and smears appear timeless, probably now more than ever, as witnessed by showboat pundits and self-appointed consciences. Fifty-five years and not all that much, aside from the players has changed. However, it would be nice if a few more Murrow's showed up.

"No one familiar with the history of his country can deny that congressional committees are useful. It is necessary to investigate before legislating. But the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one, and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly".

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David Shuster questions McCain spokesperson Ben Porritt about Sarah Palin's statement that she thought her First Amendment rights were under attack because the press said she was going "negative" on Obama.

Palin: ...Gov. Sarah Palin said she fears her First Amendment rights may be threatened by "attacks" from reporters who suggest she is engaging in a negative campaign against Barack Obama. Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama's associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate's free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.

Shuster asks Porritt why Palin thinks the First Amendment protects her from the press rather than the other way around. When pinned down, all Porritt could do was say that she really didn't mean it, attack Barack Obama and Joe Biden, claim that he didn't hear the entire interview, and blame the press for playing "gotcha' games".