On self censorship

Iranians that I talked to during my recent trip to this complex country described the media situation as being very nuanced. Although overt censorship is no longer common, there are "red lines" that media outlets critical of the regime would be wise not to cross if they wish to keep their jobs or stay in business. (For a good description of the situation click here) The meeting that we were scheduled to have with a group of journalists was canceled. Although the actual reason for the cancellation was not completely clear, the best guess was that they did not want to risk being associated with Americans at a time when such association could impact their livelihood. As the article points out the location of the "red line" is not clear and therefore journalists need to be careful and exert a large degree of self censorship with respect to what they say or publish. In the US, however, the location of the "red line" with respect to the Israel/Palestinian conflict is very clear and one crosses the line at one's peril as DePaul University political science professor Norman Finkelstein found out. If you are in academia or the media and dare to cross the line your livelihood will be in peril. (For this story click here) My advice would be: If you are in this position and want to keep your job, exercise a little self censorship.