What Liberal Media?; The Truth About Bias And The News
Masao Ishigouoka (Jacket front photograph) and Deb New York: Basic Books, 2003. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xiv, 322 pages. Notes. Index. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads To Dan, Keep writing those letters to the Editor, Best wishes Eric Alterman. Eric Alterman (born January 14, 1960) is an American historian, journalist, author, media critic and educator. He is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and the author of eleven books. From 1995 to 2020, Alterman was "The Liberal Media" columnist for The Nation. He is a contributing writer there, and at The American Prospect, where he wrote the newsletter, Altercation, until January 27, 2023. In his farewell newsletter column Alterman stated that he opened a Substack page also entitled, Altercation. Alterman's first book was entitled, Sound & Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy, which won the 1992 George Orwell Award. Alterman wrote the book while working on his doctorate in U.S. history at Stanford University. Alterman's other books include the national bestsellers, What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News and The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America. Other books he has authored include Who Speaks for America? Why Democracy Matters in Foreign Policy and the second edition of Sound & Fury. His It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen won the 1999 Stephen Crane Literary Award. In September 2004, Viking Press published When Presidents Lie/When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and its Consequences – a version of his doctoral dissertation – on lies of major consequence told by American presidents. Derived from a Kirkus review: Journalist Alterman disproves with vigor the notion of news organizations’ left-wing bias, only to leave the more important question hanging: why ignorance trumps ideology. The author believes that the media should be watchdogs: aggressive and independent in securing news, questioning of authority, frank about any self-interest involved. Given his definition of liberals as those who believe in “a steeply progressive income tax, to say nothing of making universally available, high-quality health care, education, housing, public parks, beaches, and last but not least, political power,” it doesn't take much to trot out the media opposition. The influential, or at least conspicuous, conservative pundits Alterman identifies range from Ann Coulter to William Safire, with all manner of the frothing Michael Kelly and Cokie Roberts in between, all of them representing an ideological agenda. These pundits do not own their last words; those are the property of editors, publishers, producers, and advertisers geared toward a market whose heart isn't in hard news. Conservatives and liberals alike can hurl examples of bias at each other all day long, but it’s understood that “the White House depends on the media to make its case to the public; the media needs the White House to fill their airtime.” Alterman hits the nub when he writes, “Most reporters are ignorant about most things”; all too often, journalists don't have an inkling of what they are covering, especially regarding national politics and international affairs (from the Balkans to Iraq, few ask the hard questions). Regrettably, the author doesn't pursue this fundamental point. Nonetheless, a sobering reminder that TV long ago abandoned serious journalism and that watchdogs and skeptics are thin on the ground in all media—bad news for those who believe a vibrant, informative press is one of the bedrocks of democracy. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Journalism, Ethics, Objectivity, Bias, Pundits, Elections, Conservatives, Liberals, Print Media, News Media, Internet, Talk Radio, Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh, Racism, Terrorism, Newspapers
ISBN: 0465001769
[Book #86997]
Price: $125.00