(EDITOR'S NOTE: A NATIONAL PANEL OF MEDIA EXPERTS ANNUALLY SELECTS THE TOP TEN UNDER-REPORTED NEWS STORIES OF THE YEAR) AMERICA'S INFORMATION MONOPOLY TOPS UNDER-REPORTED NEWS STORIES OF 1987 ROHNERT PARK -- The rapidly increasing concentration of media ownership in America and its impact on a free society topped the list of 25 overlooked issues of 1987 according to a national panel of media experts. The second most undercovered story of the year, cited by Project Censored, concerned the mounting evidence of a large-scale contra/CIA drug smuggling network. Now in its 12th year, Project Censored, a national media research effort conducted annually at Sonoma State University, California, locates stories about significant issues which are not widely publicized by the national news media. Following are the top ten under-reported news stories of 1987 as announced by project director Carl Jensen, professor of communication studies at Sonoma State University: 1. The Information Monopoly. Media expert Ben Bagdikian found that in 1987 just 29 corporations controlled half or more of the media business in America. Wall Street analysts of the media predict that only half a dozen giant firms will control most of our media by the 1990s. The impact of this information cartel on a free society is ignored by the mass media. 2. The U.S. and Its Contra/Drug Connection. An investigation by the Christic Institute, along with testimony before Congressional committees last year, revealed a startling picture of large-scale drug trafficking under the auspices of the U.S. government/contra supply network. In the midst of Nancy Reagan's well-publicized "Just Say No" to drugs campaign, the mainstream media failed to expose the contra gun- running operation that provided a safe conduit for drugs into the U.S. 3. Unreported Worldwide Nuclear Accidents. In 1987, the West German weekly DER SPIEGEL published secret nuclear reactor accident reports compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The reports, translated into English and published in a small circulation U.S. publication, were ignored by the major media. DER SPIEGEL said that "a meltdown was a real possibility" in several of the accidents and warned that human error is most prevalent in North America. 4. Reagan's Mania for Secrecy. Even though President Reagan proclaimed 1987 the "Year of the Reader," three major reports published in 1987 charged that because of the Reagan administration's penchant for secrecy, there was less to read last year. The reports detail how a massive network of executive orders, secret directives, and administrative edicts institutionalized secrecy throughout the government and put unprecedented controls on information available to the public. 5. George Bush's Role in the Iran Arms Deal. Evidence surfaced last year which indicates that Vice President Bush, far more than President Reagan, promoted the Iran arms initiative, took part in secret negotiations, and conferred upon Oliver North the secret powers to carry it out. The evidence suggests that Bush supported the Iran arms sales because of an economic motive -- the desire to stabilize dropping oil prices. 6. Biowarfare Research in University Laboratories. Overshadowed by Star Wars, the push toward biowarfare has been one of the Reagan administration's best kept secrets. Despite an international agreement which bans the development of germ-warfare agents, the Pentagon's research budget for infectious diseases and toxins has increased tenfold since fiscal '81 and most of the '86 budget of $42 million went to 24 U.S. university campuses where the world's most deadly organisms are being cultured in campus labs. 7. Biased Press Coverage of Arias Peace Plan. Two studies monitoring U.S. press coverage of the Arias peace plan found significant bias in the coverage. The New York-based Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting group concluded that the study showed how "Reagan's obsession with Nicaragua has turned into a media obsession." The other study, by the Media Alliance, a San Francisco-based group of media professionals, concluded that most of the newspapers studied followed the Reagan administration's direction as to what deserved coverage in Central America. 8. Dumping Our Toxic Wastes on the Third World. Exporting hazardous and toxic wastes to Third World countries is a growth industry. The exported material includes heavy metal residues and chemical-contaminated wastes, pharmaceutical refuse, and municipal sewage sludge and incinerator ash. The risks for countries that accept our wastes range from contamination of groundwater and crops to birth defects and cancer. Since we import food from some of these same countries, our exported hazardous wastes could easily end up on our own dinner tables. 9. The Censored Report of Torture in El Salvador. A 165-page report smuggled out of the Mariona men's prison in El Salvador by the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, documents the "routine" use of at least 40 kinds of torture on political prisoners. Prisoners are systematically tortured by Salvadoran police forces who are trained and occasionally supervised by American military advisers. The use of torture reportedly is part of the U.S. counterinsurgency program in El Salvador. 10. Project Galileo Shuttle to Carry Lethal Plutonium. Despite dire scientific warnings of a possible disaster, NASA is pursuing plans to launch the Project Galileo shuttle space probe with 49 pounds of plutonium on it. Theoretically, one pound of plutonium, evenly distributed, could give everyone on the planet a fatal case of lung cancer. Critics of the plan claim that putting Galileo's plutonium payload into space is both risky and unnecessary. The other 15 under-reported stories of 1987 were: U.S. Sends Bullets to Starving Children in Honduras; Decline in Genetic Diversity: Global Disaster in the Making; The United States: An International Outlaw; The Tragedy of Grenada Since October 25, 1983; The FBI Tries To Turn America's Librarians Into Spies; Reagan's 1980 "October Surprise" -- Arms For Hostages; Oliver North's Secret Plan to Declare Martial Law; Non-ionizing Radiation and Public Health/Safety Hazards; Glowing Outlook For Food Irradiation Business; The Growth of Economic Apartheid in America; OMB Compiling Nationwide Blacklist of Grant Violators; Roundup: the World's Most Popular Weed Killer; Puerto Rico: The Revolution at Our Doorstep; Congressional Conflict of Interest: "Company" Man Probes Contras; Millions of America's Animals Tested, Maimed, and Killed Annually. PROJECT CENSORED JUDGES The panel of jurors who selected the top ten stories were: Dr. Donna Allen, founding editor of MEDIA REPORT TO WOMEN; Ben Bagdikian, Dean, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley; Noam Chomsky, professor, Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Kenneth Galbraith, economist, Harvard University; George Gerbner, professor, Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania; Nicholas Johnson, professor, College of Law, University of Iowa; Charles L. Klotzer, editor and publisher, THE ST. LOUIS JOURNALISM REVIEW; Brad Knickerbocker, national news editor, THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR; Judith Krug, Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association; Bill Moyers, Executive Editor, Public Affairs Television; Jack L. Nelson, professor, Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University; Herbert I. Schiller, Professor of Communication, University of California, San Diego; George Seldes, America's Emeritus Journalist and author of THE GREAT THOUGHTS; Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld, president, D.C. Productions; Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor- in-Chief, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT. Sonoma State University student researchers participating in the nationwide research effort were Frances Caballo, Carolina Clare, Morley Cowan, Nana Nash, Mark Pierson, Lance Plaza, Kevin W.Rose, Roxanne Turnage, and Kelly Wendt. Jensen, who originated the media research project in 1976, said "The increasing centralization of information sources, combined with the Reagan administration's mania for secrecy, significantly reduced the flow of information to the American people last year. Each of the stories cited above should have been on the front page of every newspaper and on every network news program in the country. The fact that they weren't suggests there is an effective covert form of censorship in America." Anyone interested in nominating a 1988 story for next year's project can send a copy of the story to Carl Jensen, Project Censored, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA 94928. (EDITOR'S NOTE: SIDEBAR STORY FOLLOWS) INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA CITED FOR EXPOSING "CENSORED" STORIES Following are the investigative journalists and media cited by Project Censored for exploring the top ten issues overlooked or under-reported by the national news media in 1987: 1. The Information Monopoly -- EXTRA!, 6/87, "The 26 corporations that own our media," and MULTINATIONAL MONITOR, 9/87, "The Media Brokers," both by Ben Bagdikian; UTNE READER, 1/88, Censorship in Publishing," by Lynette Lamb. 2. The U.S. and Its Contra/Drug Connection -- THE CHRISTIC INSTITUTE SPECIAL REPORT, 11/87, "The Contra-Drug Connection" by Daniel P. Sheehan; NEWSDAY, 6/28/87, "Witness: Contras Got Drug Cash," by Knut Royce; THE NATION, 9/5/87, "How the Drug Czar Got Away," by Martin A. Lee; IN THESE TIMES, 4/15/87, "CIA, contras hooked on drug money," by Vince Bielski and Dennis Bernstein. 3. Unreported Worldwide Nuclear Accidents -- EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL, Summer, 1987, "Secret Documents Reveal Nuclear Accidents Worldwide," by Gar Smith with Hans Hollitscher; EXTRA!, 6/87, "Nuclear Broadcasting Company." 4. Reagan's Mania for Secrecy -- THE NATION, 5/23/87, "History Deleted;" GOVERNMENT SECRECY: DECISIONS WITHOUT DEMOCRACY, 12/87, by People For The American Way; FYI MEDIA ALERT 1987, 3/87, "The Reagan Administration & The News Media," by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press; THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Washington Office, "Less Access to Less Information By and About the U.S. Government: IX," 12/87, by Anne A. Heanue. 5. George Bush's Role in the Iran Arms Deal -- PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE, 12/21/87, "Bush had oil policy interest in promoting Iran arms deals," by Peter Dale Scott. 6. Biowarfare Research in University Laboratories -- ISTHMUS, 10/9/87, "Biowarfare and the UW," by Richard Jannaccio; THE PROGRESSIVE, 11/16/87, "Poisons from the Pentagon," by Seth Shulman; WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/17/86, "Military Science," by Bill Richards and Tim Carrington. 7. Biased Press Coverage of Arias Peace Plan -- SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN, 1/6/88, "On Central America, U.S. Dailies Parrot Reagan Line," by Jeff Gillenkirk; EXTRA!, 8/87, "Media Put Reagan Spin on Arias Plan," by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. 8. Dumping Our Toxic Wastes on the Third World -- THE NATION, 10/3/87, "The Export of U.S. Toxic Wastes," by Andrew Porterfield and David Weir. 9. The Censored Report of Torture in El Salvador -- THE NATION, 2/21/87, "After the Press Bus Left," and THE NATION, 11/14/87, "The Press and the Plan," both by Alexander Cockburn; SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, 11/14/86, "In Prison, Salvador rights panel works on," by Ron Ridenhour; MARIN INTERFAITH TASK FORCE ON CENTRAL AMERICA, 7/2/87, by Liz Erringer. 10. Project Galileo Shuttle To Carry Lethal Plutonium -- THE NATION, 1/23/88, "The Space Probe's Lethal Cargo," by Karl Grossman.