Lisa McBride writes: What is media censorship, exactly? Media censorship is the subtle and cultivated manipulation of the truth as presented on major news outlets, the intentional non-inclusion of a news story, or the purposeful skewing of an important angle of the news story, which boils down to an intent to not tell the whole truth.

During the past twenty-plus years, there has been an unprecedented consolidation of corporate media in the U.S. and other western media. Even as early as the 1980's, the U.S. media outlets were already dominated by approximately fifty media conglomerates. By the year 2000, just six corporations dominated the U.S. media - and the trend to consolidate further has not slowed down a bit. This means that a small handful of corporations have complete control over all media outlets accessible to us, including television, radio, newspapers, magazines, music, publishing, film, and sooner rather than later, the internet.

Corporate Media is under political pressure from governments and powerful lobbying groups, economic pressure from advertisers and funding sources, and the threat of lawsuits from wealthy power mongers, major corporations, and institutions that seek to maintain a monoply on their version of truth. This results in much censorship of our news in the media, and the reason many who rely only on corporate sponsored news are woefully uninformed of "the rest of the story".

There has also been a troubling trend here in the United States to present the news in a fun, entertaining fashion. This leads to even less substance, more fluff, and the practice of treading lightly on serious matters. After all, the media does not want to offend their corporate sponsors who are manipulating readers and viewers into buying their products.

If one wants to know the truth of any matter, those interests will not be served by passively relying on any corporate sponsored news service. It is imperative now, for those wishing to get a clear look at the world we live in today, to become active in obtaining information from a variety of sources. It is important to separate fact from fiction, subjective wishful thinking, or the marketing ploy of "fear-mongering".

My work here is an effort to locate and spotlight news and articles that are consistently censored, under-reported, unreported, or misrepresented in the mass media outlets.

On more personal level, I am the "lead Mom" of a growing family that keeps me very busy with new additions. Our family gatherings are getting bigger nearly every year- some blood relatives, some "adoptees", some tag alongs who show up at the last minute. We enjoy getting together to cook large meals and usually nobody is a stranger to our loud, happy gatherings. I spend a lot of time playing in the dirt as an organic gardener who is teaching herself the bio-intensive techniques of growing more food in a small space. I feel most like myself when hiking alone in the cliffs and forests by the sea, or when exploring the shoreline of the cold Pacific coast, poking around tide pools, talking to creation, or perhaps, writing bad poetry.

I enjoy stand up comedy, foreign films, good red wine and road trips. I have learned to appreciate disillusionment, because without becoming dis-illusioned, we'd never know the truth about anything.

Contact Lisa McBride, World News Editor