Synopses & Reviews
What happens to journalists who expose uncomfortable truths? How far are
journalists prepared to go in order to report a difficult story? Silenced
provides answers to these questions with the stories of journalists who
risked their careers so that the public might be informed.
From China, where Jasper Becker, formerly Beijing bureau chief of the South
China Morning Post, fought a lonely and unsuccessful battle against owners
willing to soften the newspaper's reporting of the Chinese government in
the hope of protecting mainland investments, to Zimbabwe where the harsh
treatment of the Guardian's Andrew Meldrum led to him being arrested and
forcibly deported from the country because he dared criticize President
Robert Mugabe, Silenced is a forcible reminder of the risks both personal
and financial accepted by the media on our behalf.
Elsewhere, in other parts of the world, journalists face more traditional
problems, whether it is the pressure placed on journalists Gary Hughes and
Gerard Ryle when highlighting police corruption in Australia, or the
aggressive tactics employed by the Belgian authorities against Stern
magazine's Hans-Martin Tillack for exposing a financial scandal at the
heart of the European Union.
When faced with the threat of censorship, all of these journalists reacted
in a similar manner they chose to report and face the consequences. They
decided to place the ethics of journalism above all other considerations.
As such they are proof that press freedom cannot exist without those who
are willing to uphold its fundamental principals.
Silenced is more than a book on the media; it is an expression of the
bravery and persistence of journalists everywhere.
About the Author
David Dadge (Vienna, Austria) is the editor at the International Press Institute and the author of Silenced: International Journalists Expose Media Censorship. He writes frequently on the media and freedom of the press.