I agree with Mr. Rose on this one.

And the whole report on the problems with freedom of the press in Eastern Europe is depressing.

But before we praise ourselves (some countries in the West) for not having these problems, I think there are some other aspects of press freedom we ought to consider.

The report addresses the effects of government interference and legislation.

But there are other ways in which the so called free press in the West, and here I will use Denmark as an example, acts in a way which produces very similar results.

Just a few days ago the Lisbon Treaty was signed in Denmark.

Anyone who is familiar with the content of this document, and its implications, will know that signing this agreement has very far reaching consequences.

But the Danish press has in no way been trying the least to enlighten the public about these consequences, and what this treaty really means.

In Denmark both news papers and TV stations have been talking day after day about minor issues; a minister who allegedly spent a little too much on wine and cigarettes with taxpayer money, the fate of a handful of Iraqi asylum seekers in the Danish system, and scores of other stories of only very limited interest,importance and consequence. These stories have been discussed and dissected by the media for hours on end.

About the far reaching consequences of the Lisbon Treaty, they have been silent as a grave.

Why?

Well, almost all politicians, except the slightly nationalist Danish People’s Party and the tiny fringe Marxist party Enhedslisten all agree on the virtues of the European Union and its progress, and so do almost all journalists, TV stations and newspapers!

On the internet and in the blogosphere, there have been published scores of well documented articles about the implications of the Lisbon treaty. Almost none of this has found its way to the main stream media.

There is an almost total blackout on this issue, on which the elite of journalists, media and politicians seem to agree completely.

By contrast at least 50 % of the population is skeptical about giving more power to the EU bureaucracy.

Now where does this leave the western press, compared to the eastern European media?

The practical result is exactly the same. Important news is deliberately being kept away from the public.

This tendency can be seen not only in Denmark, but in most other European countries as well.

While in the Eastern European countries legislation may be the problem, what we see in the west is a silent agreement between the ruling political elites and the media; a clear conspiracy.

In the light of these reality, I think the great concern about freedom of the press in Eastern Europe, no matter how real and serious this problem may be, in fact is just another distraction, used to black out the democratic problem we have in the West.

Consider reading some of the articles where the deliberate attempts from politicians and media to hide the truth about the coming undemocratic super state are being exposed listed here:

http://balder.org/eu
http://euro-med.dk
http://wiseupjournal.com/ (The Irish Referendum Campaign)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4291770489472554607&hl=en