Poder 5 and Blogger Censorship

Photos of Raul Colon Web Developer Puerto Rico

There is no better satisfaction than receiving a comment on the blogs I work or write for. Overall I have to say Michael Castro stands out as the one individual who is a frequent commentator. @MichaelDCC runs Poder 5.

“…the internet as an improvement of traditional communication channels, and the possibilities of uniting in a social network, would be the 5th power, in this case it will escape what is controlled by part of the government and private traditional massive media and handled y its accountability will fall on society” – Ignacio Ramonet (this is a translation from spanish more info at Poder 5)

The blog’s main purpose is to keep tabs on the local press in Puerto Rico. Sadly most of our local newspapers are heavily influenced by the individuals that pay their bills. I know this is something that happens elsewhere. Living on the island and seeing how local press operates, it provides any individual a better understanding of the level of control they have over what is publishied for the masses.

Michael has pushed the envelope and developed a following with people like myself that find huge areas for improvement in the way that the local press reacts. Michael is a giver and he gives lots of his time into exposing the many injustices Puerto Ricans that reside on the island have to deal with. It is not easy standing up to the press on an Island where only a few others, outside of the U.S. Government, control the key decisions of what is going and use printed media to disseminate information in an attempt to control the masses.

The local government censors those who point out those faults.  They are continuously seeking new ways to censor and quiet those who are not aligned with their interests. Recently we had two situations where they decided to block bloggers just because they did not agree with those bloggers.

The most recent incident was of a blogger who was blocked from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company’s facebook page just because he has criticized their discrimination of tourism offers to local residents. Instead of recruiting him they want to censor him. Not sure how the PRTC envisions this as being a positive thing. I have reached out to the PRTC waiting for an answer on why he was blocked from the facebook page and I have not received any reply. I will be writing a follow up  post on this issue with more detail on this blog and a few other occurrences where bloggers where censored. Feel free to subscribe if you want to receive it via email.

Michael’s blog has inspired me to make sure I keep a balance of watching out for those injustices that happen every day. Michael is one of the few local bloggers that really defines what I think a blogger should be. He has inspired me in so many ways. I am grateful that he visits my blog almost every day to ready my posts and comment with his great insight.

Stop by Poder 5 and give Michael your point of view and congratulate him on my behalf for such an awesome job! ( If you need a translator feel free to tweet me I can give you the quick overview in your language of preference).

If you are one of those bloggers or person that feels that you where censored on-line for no reason feel free to contact me directly.

2 Comments

  1. Prometeo on June 25, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    Wow. I´m amazed and honored to that you write a post mentioning my blog and me. 

    I´ve been censored so many times by the press on this island that I can´t remember the number really. I´m blocked from El Nuevo Día´s and Primera Hora´s commenting sections. Everytime I call to WKAQ my call is dropped and so on. Eventually the press and the media in this island will have to realize that they can´t keep a plug on blogger expressions forever. People are reading more the internet and finding alternate ways to get their information. 

    I read with enthusiasm a post where some people from Caguas are going to make their own page and practice citizen journalism. I hope more people follow that example and create a citizen journalists mass that will balance the flow of information that has been controlled by the traditional media for so many decades. That´s what Ignacio Ramonet, the Spanish journalist who coined the term 5th Power, had envisioned when he wrote the essay that inspired me to create my blog. 

    Thanks for mentioning me and sharing. 



    • Raul Colon on June 26, 2011 at 12:20 am

      I did read your tweet. It would be great to see how we could all support that project. The only issue I saw was that it did not seem transparent enough to see who was behind it. Where you able to get that info!