Most Are Against Censorship--With Some Major Exceptions

West Europeans and North Americans oppose the idea of press censorship in principle, but their mood changes when they contemplate restricting sensational or troublesome news stories or telecasts that bother them.

A survey released Tuesday by the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press revealed a surprising sentiment for restrictions on media among Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Britons, French, Germans, Italians and Spanish.

The survey found the most sentiment for censorship in Britain and France, the least in Italy and Spain. Atop this, East Germans, only recently living under communism, favored censorship more than West Germans.

Substantial majorities in six countries--ranging to 80% in Britain--favored restrictions on the press to protect military secrets. Such moves were favored by 69% of Americans. A plurality opted for restrictions in Spain. Only the Italians rejected them.

Almost every country favored censorship to discourage terrorism. The majority in the United States was 60%. Again, only the Italians rejected such censorship.

But the Italians joined all the others in favoring restrictions on news of unnecessary violence. The majorities ranged from 52% in the United States to 83% in France. The Italian willingness to support censorship on this issue evidently stemmed from the feeling by many Italians that media attention to the violence of the Red Brigades fed egos in the terrorist group and thus encouraged their attacks in the 1970s and 1980s.

A majority or plurality in almost every country, reaching a high of 77% in Mexico, favored censorship to restrict portrayals of explicit sex. The Italians were once more the only exception. In the United States, such censorship was advocated by 59%.

Yet when asked if they favored restrictions on what newspapers and television report in general, heavy majorities disagreed. The loudest opposition--73%--came from Spain, which emerged from four decades of fascist dictatorship less than 20 years ago. In the United States, 65% opposed restrictions.