Censoring Perceptions

In demonising Rupert Murdoch, rival media outlets have, as usual, neglected deeper themes in his shedding of the book commissioned from the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, by Murdoch's HarperCollins publishing house. This latest episode in the long story of freedom of expression illuminates the following enduring issues, which, in the context of contemporary communications technology and a globalising economy, take on a new significance: the absurdity of the censor; the power of any large media organisation, whether or not run by someone with whom you tend to agree; the trend for corporations to act like states and the implications of that for corporations that deal in information and for the civic life that depends on that information; above all, the evil of self-censorship.