Media & Politics Books

Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 85 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Your life could depend on reading this book. 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Hey folks,

If you're out there considering buying this book, please know that it might prove to be one of the most important books you'll ever read.

You might realize that our government isn't always straightfoward with us. You might even have noticed the lack of objective and complete news reporting that is prevailing with the media these days. This book will show you how our government, large corporations, and the media work in concert to keep Americans in the dark about things that affect our most vital interests. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, I know--because that's the reaction we've all been conditioned to have about material like this. However, every fact in this book is verifiable. Please take the time to read it!!

I also highly recommend Blowback by Chalmers Johnson.

Read these books--learn to see past the propaganda we are inundated with daily!

Editorial Review:

An absolutely brilliant analysis of the ways in which individuals and organizations of the media are influenced to shape the social agendas of knowledge and, therefore, belief. Contrary to the popular conception of members of the press as hard-bitten realists doggedly pursuing unpopular truths, Herman and Chomsky prove conclusively that the free-market economics model of media leads inevitably to normative and narrow reporting. Whether or not you've seen the eye-opening movie, buy this book, and you will be a far more knowledgeable person and much less prone to having your beliefs manipulated as easily as the press.

Media Control, Second Edition: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda (Open Media)

Noam Chomsky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Chomsky is brilliant, but ... 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Brilliant, very insightful. I have only one problem with Noam Chomsky's position - his absolution of general population from responibilities of their goverment. Yes, America is a big bully and there is a lot of propaganda, but isn't it what the majority wants to hear? Doesn't it feel good when we can beat up on countries like Yugoslavia to make us feel good about our might? The problem with Irag and Vietnam is that, as with all bullies, if you fight back, the bully turns cowardly. Continuing resistance of Iraqies makes Americans, and media, feel insecure about themselves - with all that might and money we cannot control a few cavemen! Propaganda is successful not becuase there is a goverment conspiracy with media - it is successful because we want to hear what the media says.

Editorial Review:

"Propaganda," says Noam Chomsky, "is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state"--in other words, the means by which leaders keep the masses in line. In this slim pamphlet, he looks at American propaganda efforts, from the warmongering of Woodrow Wilson to the creation of popular support for the 1991 military intervention in Kuwait, and reveals how falsification of history, suppression of information, and the promotion of vapid, empty concepts have become standard operating procedure for the leaders of the United States--both Democrats and Republicans--in their efforts to prevent citizens from raising awkward questions about U.S. policy.

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter

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Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

CAUTION: You’re about to enter the world of Ann Coulter

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), the instant New York Times bestseller, shows why Ann Coulter has become the most recognized—and controversial—conservative intellectual in years. Coulter ranges far and wide in this powerful and entertaining book, which draws on her weekly columns. No subject is off-limits, no comment left unsaid. She even includes a special chapter featuring the pieces that squeamish editors refused to publish—“what you could have read if you lived in a free country.”

In How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)—which features a brand-new chapter special to the paperback edition—Coulter offers her unvarnished take on:

• The essence of being a liberal: “The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.”

• Her 9/11 comments: “I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. The answer is: Now more than ever!”

• The state of the Democratic Party: “Teddy Kennedy crawls out of Boston Harbor with a quart of Scotch in one pocket and a pair of pantyhose in the other, and Democrats hail him as their party’s spiritual leader.”

• The “Treason Lobby”: “Want to make liberals angry? Defend the United States.”

• How far the Left has sunk: “Liberals have been completely intellectually vanquished. Actually, they lost the war of ideas long ago. It’s just that now their defeat is so obvious, even they’ve noticed.”

• And much more

The Powers That Be

David Halberstam

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Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Crackling with the personalities, conflicts, and ambitions that transformed the media from something that followed the news to something that formed it, "The Powers That Be" is David Halberstam's forceful account of the rise of modern media as an instrument of political power, published here with a new introduction by the author. Beginning with FDR's masterful use of radio to establish the sense of a personal, benevolently paternal relationship with the American people and culminating in the discovery and coverage of the Watergate break-in, Halberstam tracks the firm establishment of the media as a potent means of shaping both public opinion and public policy.He tells the story through vivid, intimate portraits of the men, women, and politics behind four key media organizations: CBS and its board chairman William S. Paley; "Time" magazine and its cofounder Henry Luce; the "Washington Post" and successive publishers Philip Graham and his wife, Katherine; and, the "Los Angeles Times" and publishers Norman Chandler and his son, Otis.

Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success

Chris Matthews

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Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Chris Matthews is like no other TV interviewer. Life’s a Campaign is like no other book on success.

Famous for demanding the truth from his Hardball guests, Chris Matthews now reveals what the people running this country rarely confess: the secrets of how they got to the top. Here is the first book on power with insight snatched from those who wield it. Life’s a Campaign exposes the tactics, tricks, and truths that help people get ahead–and can help you, too, whatever your field of ambition.

Written in the assertive, good-natured style that is Matthews’s trademark, Life’s a Campaign is the most useful kind of investigative reporting. You’ll benefit from his insider’s scrutiny of the Congress, the White House, and the national news media. Here are the methods, showcased in fascinating anecdotes and case histories, that presidents, senators, and other powerful people use to persuade others and win–and the life lessons they provide for the rest of us.

You’ll learn about Bill Clinton’s laser-focused ability to listen to those he wants to seduce–and how he’s been teaching that craft to his wife, Hillary; how Ronald Reagan employed his basic optimism to win history to his side; the simple steps in human diplomacy that the first President Bush exploited to assemble a worldwide posse to attack Saddam Hussein and gain global approval in a way his son has failed to do; how Nancy Pelosi became the first woman Speaker of the House by practicing the most fundamental of human qualities: hardnosed loyalty. You’ll also find out, for the first time, about Matthews’s own wild ride through the turbulent, converging rapids of politics and journalism.

The big payoff in Life’s a Campaign is what you’ll learn about human nature:

• People would rather be listened to than listen.
• People don’t mind being used; what they mind is being discarded.
• People are more loyal to the people they’ve helped than the people they’ve helped are loyal to them.
• Not everyone’s going to like you.
• No matter what anybody says, nobody wants a level playing field.

Knowing such truths is the successful person’s number one advantage in life. As you’ll learn in Life’s a Campaign, mastering–and employing–these truths separates the leaders from the followers.

Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide

Shanto Iyengar, Jennifer A. McGrady

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

good book 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I usually like to start my day by checking the news, and I usually start by taking a quick look at both [...] and [...] that's my attempt at trying to get both sides of the story, but I've gotten to the point that I don't want to read the morning news anymore, because they include so much tragic news of children being horribly abused, or women being killed or raped, and children being killed, that I don't start my day informed--I start my day depressed.
I want to read about politics, world news, and finance, what's happening in the Middle East, sports, entertainment news, weather, our government, science, health, and technology.

Editorial Review:

Media Politics encourages students to examine how the media affect American politics and how politicians influence the media in order get elected, stay in power, and achieve policy goals. Drawing on recent events and the most current research, including the work of Professor Iyengar, Media Politics is the most up-to-date introductory text available. The text is accompanied by a free DVD featuring video-clips of political ads, news stories, speeches, debates, and more.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Revised Ed: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything

Joe Trippi

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Addition 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A great addition to the original, Joe. It's amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time both in terms of bad and good. Hopefully readers will heed the words of this book. Keep the revolution alive.

Editorial Review:

When Joe Trippi signed on to manage Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, the long-shot candidate had 432 known supporters and $100,000 in the bank. Within a year the most obscure horse in the field was the front-runner, with $50 million in the campaign till, thanks to Trippi and his team. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is the incredible story of how Joe Trippi's revolutionary use of the Internet forever changed politics as we know it. Trippi's memoir cum manifesto offers a blueprint for engaging Americans in real dialogue—and is an instruction manual for how businesspeople, government leaders, and anyone else can make use of democracy. In a new afterword, Trippi reviews how these lessons have influenced the 2008 campaign, a race marked by higher voter interest than any other in recent history.

Reality Check: The Unreported Good News About America

Dennis Keegan, David West

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Streaming headlines, round-the-clock broadcasts--we live in a world of twenty-four hour news. But lately, most of what we read and hear is either negative, biased, or both. Cutting through the gloomy reports and liberal slant are Dennis Keegan and David West with their brand new book, Reality Check: The Unreported Good News About America. Contrary to what the cynical reporters and politicians say, Keegan and West prove that America is still a shining city on a hill, with a low unemployment rate, high GDP, and enviable democracy. These are not opinions, but facts--based on statistics that the media isn't reporting because of political agendas, industry competition, and limited resources. In Reality Check, Keegan and West cut through the bias and spin to reveal:

* How our twenty-four hour news culture gives us more inaccurate information, not less
* Why the U.S. economy is doing better than we realize
* Why the recent rhetoric and politics of change may do more harm than good

In this age of information saturation, the need to question and critically think about what we're reading and hearing is more important than ever. In Reality Check, Keegan and West show us how to be discerning consumers and why the news about America is much better than the media would have you believe.

Media Madness: The Corruption of Our Political Culture

James Bowman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The Media Is/Are The Emperor Without Clothes 4 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

First a note: I loved the discussion of having to use plural verbs for "media" (Latin plural) but I shall use the common singular usage.

This is an important little (117 pages) book exposing the media as not wearing any clothes while believing themselves omniscient and above all taint of bias. Yet, everyone has a bias -- to deny it is not being honest. Earlier in our history one could tell a newspaper's bias at a glance -- the paper's name was the Arkansas Globe-Democrat, or the Springfield Republican. Now the New York Times claims to be totally without bias and holding the moral high ground to always be able to see and expose the hidden meaning or agenda in every action of politicians they do not like (i.e. Bush.) Bowman exposes this ridiculous contention as hyprocrisy, hyperbole and hubris, and he does it with style.

Bowman is in love with long, involved sentences, and I recommend a close, and if required, a second read. His logic is sometimes not easy to follow, but it is there and fully developed. However, he would have done well to follow Napoleon's aprocryphal practice of always giving an order to his Polish valet first and have him explain its meaning. If the valet interpreted the order correctly, then Napoleon could feel somewhat confident that his marshals would be able to understand it. Bowman could use such a valet.

The idea of "media madness" is that the media is so full of itself that it is incapable of comprehending its deficiencies. I'm reminded of a friend who lives in Berkeley, California, and believes that Berkeley politics are firmly in the middle of the road although most outside observers would characterize them as being somewhere left of Lenin. She has succumbed to the constant and comprehensive propaganda of the media and has become incapable of separating polemic from factual reporting. Unfortunately, the media, as Bowman points out, is fully emcompassed in groupthink and incapable of seeing what they are doing. They have a herd mentality in which one can always recognize a well-informed individual -- his opinion is the same as your own. Yes, Bowman uses examples and only a few, but recounting a few thousand examples as he easily could would make his thesis sleep-inducing and counter-productive.

Bowman argues that there is NO objectivity currently in the media except as interpreted as being pointed toward convincing the reader/listener of the correctness of the writer's point of view. The writer filters all data through his Hume-oriented a priori framework of knowledge (leftist, in the vast majority of cases) and produces information consistent with his own beliefs for the recipient to use in creating his. This is natural, and to hold forth that it is otherwise is not being intellectually honest. As an example, NBC reported its newsflash on Palin's selection by McCain with the statement; "How many houses will she add to McCain's number?" But, of course, NBC was just reporting objectively.

Secondly, Bowman dismisses the idea of professionalism being an aspect of journalism. He is quite correct, of course, in spite of the many "distinguished" schools of journalism in elite universities teaching writing process rather than mastery of the subject matter. The same problem exists in education schools where mastery of subject matter is excluded and held to be irrelevant. Far more important is teaching how to make up lesson plans, visual aids, and learn techniques to "understand" the students' problems. One only needs to look at Helen (I've momentarily forgotten her last name), the dean of the White House Press Corps, to put any idea of professionalism to rest.

Bowman paints the alternate reality in which the media functions with humor and style. The media's reality is not the facts or words pronounced by a subject, but what lies underneath as discovered or manufactured by the media itself. Context is only important if it supports the directional thrust of the reporter, and more often than not is ignored so that sinister conspiracies and evil intents can more easily be inferred for sensationalistic effect. After all, that's what earns a Pulitzer Prize.

The media also uses victims extensively, treating them as experts on whatever subject involves their victimhood. Does Cindy Sheehan really qualify as an expert on geo-political foreign policy by virtue of having lost a son in a war? As Bowman points out, it is "mean-spirited" to attack victims, regardless of their lack of expertise. And it is most useful to quote such individuals to express the reporter's own point of view -- then he is shielded from having to state it himself and he can hide behind his saintly "objectivity." Celebrities are likewise extremely useful, not only to make news more entertaining, but to create a herd mentality using them as opinion leaders. Almost astoundingly, this technique works, as Bowman makes clear, particularly when the symbiotic relationship between the media and celebrities (who both need each other) can be effectively hidden from view by taking unassailable moral stances.

The weakest part of the book concern the future of the media due to the impact of bloggers on the internet. Bowman appears to believe that bloggers may provide a counterpoint to the mainstream media and reduce its power to propagandize, but that remains to be seem. There is a valid argument here, but bloggers currently are simply providing information that the "professional" journalists have missed for them to seize upon and more widely disseminate. Maybe the bloggers will show the media that it is not wearing any clothes, but I doubt it.

In short, this in an important book that should be BOUGHT and READ.

Unfortunately as Napoleon said about Jomini's book exposing Napoleon's techniques of strategy and tactics; "No matter, the young officers who will read it do not command, and the generals in command will not read it." Such is life -- I doubt if anyone in the media will read this book and allow himself to be influenced by it. To do so would be to repudiate journalism as is currently practiced in the US and his own reason for existence.

Editorial Review:

James Bowman provides a scintillating and fast-paced anatomy of the mainstream media self-generated demise. The Mind of the Media looks behind the headlines to examine mainstream media's governing myths. Writing with acerbic wit, Bowman shows how the mainstream media's embrace of a spurious notion of objectivity, combined with its addiction to scandal, and an unshakable conviction of its own moral superiority have done irreparable damage to the media's public authority.

Censored 2008: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2006-07

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Carefully orchestrated. . . . This well-researched work is highly recommended for most libraries."-Library Journal (starred review)

"Buy it, read it, act on it. Our future depends on the knowledge this collection of suppressed stories allows us."-The San Diego Review

"Required reading for broadcasters, journalists, and well-informed citizens."-Los Angeles Times

The best-selling Censored series highlights the year's twenty-five most important underreported news stories, alerting readers to negligence of corporate media and the resurgence of alternative media.

Peter Phillips, director of Project Censored, is an associate professor of sociology at Sonoma State University. He is known for his pieces in the alternative press and independent newspapers nationwide, such as Z Magazine and Social Policy.

Project Censored, founded in 1976 by Carl Jensen, has as its principal objective the advocacy for and protection of First Amendment rights and the freedom of information in the United States.