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Office of Censorship

Lead

The Office of Censorship was an emergency wartime agency set up by the United States federal government on December 19th, 1941 to aid in the censorship of all communications coming into and going out of the United States, including its territories and the Philippines. The efforts of the Office of Censorship to balance the protection of sensitive war related information with the constitutional freedoms of the press is considered largely successful. The agency's implementation of censorship was done primarily through a voluntary regulatory code that was willingly adopted by the press. The phrase, "loose lips sink ships" was popularized during World War II, which is a testament to the urgency Americans felt to protect information relating to the war effort. Radio broadcasts, newspapers, and newsreels were the primary ways Americans received their information about World War II and therefore were the medium most effected by the censorship code. The closure of the Office of Censorship in November 1945 corresponded with the ending of World War II.

A 1943 Works Progress Administration poster suggesting that careless communication may be harmful to the war effort. It depicts a letter from a soldier stamped "examined by 42."

History (this is to replace the Overview section)

Immediate Predecessors

Censorship by the American press began on a voluntary basis before America's official entry into World War II. In 1939, after the war had already begun in Europe, journalists in America started withholding information about Canadian troop movements. In September 1939, President Roosevelt declared a state of national emergency. In response to the threat of war, branches in the United States government that explicitly regulated censorship popped up within the Military and Navy. These branches were the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, which began in September 1939, and the Censorship Branch in the Military Intelligence Division which formed in June 1941. A Joint Board was also established in September of 1939 to facilitate censorship planning between the Military and Navy departments of the US government.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor in on December 7th, 1941 caused the official entry of America into World War II and the reorganizing of government activities responsible for censoring communication in and out of the United States. The First War Powers Act, passed on December 18, 1941, contained broad grants of Executive authority, including a provision on censorship.

Executive Order 8985

On December 19th, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8985, which established the Office of Censorship and conferred on its director the power to censor international communications in "his absolute discretion." The order set up a Censorship Policy Board to advise the director on policy coordination and integration of censorship activities. It also authorized the director to establish a Censorship Operating Board that would bring together other government agencies to deal with issues of communication interception. By March 15th, 1942, all military personnel who had been working on the Joint Board or on operations at the direction of the Joint Board were moved into the Office of Censorship.

The Director of Censorship

Byron Price, who was the executive news editor at the Associated Press, accepted the position of Director of Censorship on 19 December 1941 under the conditions that he would report directly to Roosevelt and that the President agreed with his desire to continue voluntary censorship. Throughout Price's tenure, the responsibility for censorship in the media was entirely on journalists. His motto for convincing the media to comply was, "Least said, soonest mended." Although over 30 agencies in the US government at the time of World War II had some censorship role, the foundation of government policies relied heavily on the patriotism and voluntary cooperation of news establishments. The American Civil Liberties Union said that Price had "censored the press and made them like it."

Price advocated against decentralizing the Office of Censorship and prevented it from merging with the Office of War Information. Price believed that a merger with the Office of War Information (OWI) would prevent the public from receiving truthful information with regards to war time efforts. While OWI and the Office of Censorship, both primarily dealt with censoring information related to the war, the OWI was also involved in political propaganda campaigns.

Though the official closure of the Office of Censorship did not come until November 1945, one day following the August 14th, 1945 Japanese surrender, Price hung a sign outside of his office door that read "out of business." In January 1946, then President Harry Truman praised Price's work at the agency and awarded Price the Medal for Merit, which was at the time the highest decoration that could be awarded to an American civilian.

Activities

To effect closer coordination of censorship activities during the war effort, representatives of Great Britain, Canada, and the United States signed an agreement providing for the complete exchange of information among all concerned parties. They also created a central clearinghouse of information within the headquarters of the Office of Censorship.

Price utilized existing facilities of the War Department and Navy Department wherever possible. On March 15, 1942, Army and Navy personnel engaged in censorship activities moved from the War Department and Navy Department to the Office of Censorship. There they monitored the 350,000 overseas cables and telegrams and 25,000 international telephone calls each week. Offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Rochester, New York reviewed films.

Radio was especially vulnerable to government control under the Communications Act of 1934. The voluntary nature of censorship relieved many broadcasters, which had expected that war would cause the government to seize all stations and draft their employees into the army. Such authority existed; Attorney General Francis Biddle issued an opinion to Price in early 1942 that gave him almost unlimited authority over broadcasting. As an experienced journalist who disliked having to act as censor, he feared that a nationwide takeover of radio would result in a permanent government monopoly. Price believed that voluntary cooperation must be tried first with mandatory censorship only if necessary, and persuaded other government officials and the military to agree.

End of the Agency

As the military situation improved, plans for adjustment and eventual cessation of censorship were devised. Executive Order 9631 issued the formal cessation of the Office of Censorship on September 28, 1945. The order became effective on November 15, 1945. Price thanked journalists nationwide for their cooperation: "You deserve, and you have, the thanks and appreciation of your Government. And my own gratitude and that of my colleagues in the unpleasant task of administering censorship is beyond words or limit." In a postwar memo to President Harry Truman on future wartime censorship procedures, Price wrote that "no one who does not dislike censorship should ever be permitted to exercise censorship" and urged that voluntary cooperation be again used.

The Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press

The Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press was first issued on January 15th, 1942 by the Office of Censorship. It had subsequent versions released on June 15th, 1942 and on May 15th, 1945 post-victory in Europe. The code set forth in simple terms—only seven pages for broadcasters, and five for the printed press—subjects that contained information of value to the enemy and which, therefore, should not be published or broadcast in the United States without authorization by a qualified government source. Price promised that "what does not concern the war does not concern censorship." Rather than having government officials review all articles and columns, the newspapers and radio stations voluntarily adopted to seek approval from a relevant government agency before discussing information on sensitive subjects. These sensitive subjects included factory production figures, troop movements, damages to American forces, and weather reports. All major news organizations in addition to 1,600 accredited wartime corespondents pledged to adhere to the code. A 24-hour hotline quickly answered media questions on appropriate topics.

Weather [to be added at the end of the existing weather section]

In 1942, Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the first lady at the time, wrote a column about her travel across the country in which she included some details about the weather. She received a stern letter from the Office of Censorship admonishing her use of weather in her column.

Censorship Failures

Two censorship failures of World War II:

• On June 7, 1942 the Chicago Tribune announcement of breaking of Japanese Purple (cipher machine).
• In June, 1943 Congressman Andrew Jackson May disclosed that Japanese depth charges were set too shallow-and resulted in the estimated losses of 10 US Submarines and 800 servicemen.
  • List of US Submarines lost by depth charges: 19 out of 53 lost; 1522 crew lost
  • USS Barbel (SS-316) 4 February 1945
  • USS Bonefish (SS-223) 18 June 1945
  • USS Bullhead (SS-332) 6 August 1945
  • USS Cisco (SS-290) 28 September 1943
  • USS Golet (SS-361) 14 June 1944
  • USS Grayback (SS-208) 27 February 1944
  • USS Grayling (SS-209) 9 September 1943
  • USS Growler (SS-215) 8 November 1944
  • USS Gudgeon (SS-211) 18 April 1944
  • USS Harder (SS-257) 24 August 1944
  • USS Lagarto (SS-371) 4 May 1945
  • USS S-44 (SS-155) 7 October 1943
  • USS Scamp (SS-277) 11 November 1944
  • USS Sculpin (SS-191) 19 November 1943
  • USS Shark (SS-314) 24 October 1944
  • USS Swordfish (SS-193) 12 January 1945
  • USS Trigger (SS-237) 28 March 1945
  • USS Trout (SS-202) 29 February 1944
  • USS Wahoo (SS-238) 11 October 1943
    

See Also

• Postal Censorship
• Censorship in the United States
• Military history of the United States during World War II
• United States home front during World War II
• Byron Price

National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC)

Revised Lead section

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), founded in 1974, is an alliance of 50 American non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. NCAC is a New York-based organization with official 501(c)(3) status in the United States. The coalition works to defend freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression from censorship and threats of censorship through education and outreach, and direct advocacy. NCAC assists individuals, community groups, and institutions with strategies and resources for resisting censorship and creating a climate hospitable to free expression. It also encourages the publicizing of cases of censorship and has a place to report instances of censorship on the organization's website. Their annual fundraiser is called the Free Speech Defender Awards. The main goal of the organization is to defend the first amendment, freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression. NCAC's website contains reports of censorship incidents, analysis and discussion of free expression issues, a database of legal cases in the arts, an archive of NCAC's quarterly newsletter, a blog, and Censorpedia, a crowdsourced wiki. In fiscal year 2017, the organization earned a 95.93% rating by Charity Navigator, an organization that asses the efficacy of nonprofits.

Beginning [to replace the History section]

NCAC formed "The Coalition" in 1973 in response to the Supreme Court decision in Miller v. California. The decision concluded that the first amendment does not protect obscene speech and defined obscene as something lacking serious literary, artistic, or scientific value.

Free Speech Defender Awards

The Free Speech Defender Awards is NCAC's annual fundraiser.

2018

On November 5th, 2018 the Free Speech Defender awards took place in New York City and honored the Artistic Director of The Public Theater, Oscar Eustis, for his commitment to promoting public theater and defending freedom of expression. At the direction of Eustis, in 2017 The Public Theater preformed a version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar where the depiction of Julius was "Trump-like." This depiction caused two of the plays largest funders to withdraw, but Eustis did not alter the production. In defense of his play, Eustis said, "Those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save."

The 2018 Free Speech Defender Awards featured a joint performance by theater stars, Joe Iconis and George Salazar. The two men sung a song from a musical in development called Be More Chill.

Gayle Forman, a best-selling young-adult novelist, Ny'Shira Lundy, a teenage literary activist, and Sadie Price-Elliott, a youth film maker were also honored at the event.

2017

The 2017 Free Speech Defender Awards took place on November 6th in downtown New York City. The event honored David Levithan and Joan E. Bertin. Levithan is a young adult author who often features gay characters in his novels. Bertin is a constitutional and civil rights lawyer who was the Executive Director of NCAC from 1997 until June of 2017.

Coalition Members

These are the coalition members according to the official National Coalition Against Censorship website:

Actors' Equity Association

American Association of School Administrators

American Association of University Professors

American Association of University Women

American Booksellers for Free Expression

American Civil Liberties Union

American Ethical Union

American Federation of Teachers

American Jewish Committee

American Library Association

American Literary Translators Association

American Orthopsychiatric Association

American Society of Journalists & Authors

Americans United for Separation of Church & State

Association of American Publishers

Authors Guild

Catholics for Choice

Children's Literature Association

College Art Association

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

The Creative Coalition

Directors Guild of America

Dramatists Guild of America

Dramatists Legal Defense Fund

Educational Book & Media Association

First Amendment Lawyers Association

Free Speech Coalition

International Literacy Association

Lambda Legal

Modern Language Association

National Center for Science Education

National Communication Association

National Council for the Social Studies

National Council of Churches

National Council of Jewish Women

National Council of Teachers of English

National Education Association

National Youth Rights Association

The Newspaper Guild/CWA

PEN American Center

People for the American Way

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Project Censored

SAG-AFTRA

Sexuality Information & Education Council of the U.S.

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

Student Press Law Center

Union for Reform Judaism

Union of Democratic Intellectuals

Unitarian Universalist Association

United Church of Christ, Office of Communication

United Methodist Church, United Methodist Communications

Women's American ORT

Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Writers Guild of America, East

Writers Guild of America, West

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