Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media (American Political Challenges) [Hardcover]

Craig Crawford (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742538168 | ISBN-13: 978-0742538160 | Publication Date: August 24, 2005

Politicians and the media are natural enemies, but in recent times, the relationship has exploded into all-out war. Think about bimbo eruptions, DUI arrests, cocaine parties, National Guard service records, Swift Boat veterans. Think about two generations of Bush presidents up against Dan Rather. Think about who lost.

Craig Crawford has seen it all up close and personal, and he is disturbed by what he sees. When politicians turn the public against the media, everyone loses—especially unbiased and courageous news reporting. When veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas is banished from her front-row post, as she has been in the current administration—the American public is denied the chance to consider her pointed questions, even if they go unanswered. Worse, when traditional reporters and media are displaced, the pundits and alternative media take over. Rush Limbaugh, The O'Reilly Factor, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, and the bloggers have their place in American politics, and the 2004 elections showed the incredible power of the Internet. These media, however, are a different breed, as Crawford points out—they serve a purpose, but at a cost. They become "opinion merchants," bartering outrageous assertions for audience appeal with little attention to the truth. These days, the truth is hard to find. If the press is not believed—or believable—because politicians have turned the public against it, then the press is not free, but under the thumbs of politicians. Without a free press, there is no democracy. That, says Crawford, is where we find ourselves today. If you don't like the news, attack the messenger, and it will go away. Going, going, gone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1988, Vice President George H.W. Bush successfully evaded Dan Rather's questions about his Iran-Contra affair involvement by going on the attack in a live interview on CBS. Crawford, a TV pundit and Congressional Quarterly columnist, identifies this event as the turning point in the media's relationship to both politicians and the nation. In this impassioned dissection of the rapid devolution of the media's power in today's political environment, he asserts that the public's distrust of the news media has reached at a high point, an issue he considers one of "the most hazardous political challenges now facing Americans." Politicians—liberals and conservatives alike (though Republicans bear the brunt of Crawford's ire)—have deflected criticism and convinced the public to blame the media. Though Crawford makes no startling observations or conclusions, he marshals convincing evidence for his argument, from the decline of PBS's editorial independence to the "televised smack-downs" between reporter Helen Thomas and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer during the lead-up to the Iraq War. Slim as Crawford's book may be, it does a decent job of pulling together the principal moments of the ongoing struggle between the press and the government. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

I have covered many a presidential campaign with Craig Crawford, and I can honestly say that, of all the so-called 'political experts' out there, he definitely consumes the most cheeseburgers. (Dave Barry )

Craig Crawford has written a definitive book that throws new light on the roles of the press and officialdom with sparkling anecdotes that prove his point. He doesn't spare either side, but the First Amendment comes out a winner in this scintillating book. (Thomas, Helen )

How lies are made into the truth, and truth made into lies; how the liars come to be perceived as victims and the truth-tellers, evildoers. A cautionary story for those of all political stripes, to say nothing of journalists and those who consume information today, and Crawford's nailed it. (Keith Olbermann )

It's all here—the good, the bad, and the ugly . . . and cable, too—all compiled by a political pro with a jeweler's eye for detail and the distance vision of a fighter pilot. Craig Crawford knows his beat.

Craig's book made me alternately squeal with delight at the media's arrogance and curse his mother, Toby, for giving him life where he reveals the complicity of politicians in the contemporary degradation of political/press affairs. But Attack the Messenger is not about assigning blame; its an inspiration to stop the madness for democracy's sake. The media must stop presuming all politicians are corrupt, egomaniacal liars, and we pols have to consider the possibility that not all media are evil, self-serving, out-of-touch cynics. Both professions are anchored in ideas, populated with idealists who all rue their tradecrafts have degenerated to a point that devalues both their noble worlds and worse—the public they both long to serve. (Mary Matalin )

With wit and insider knowledge, Craig Crawford identifies America's Most Wanted: the con-men, spinners, character assassins, electronic demagogues, greedy bottom-liners, and barefaced liars who—with rather too much help from sloppiness in the media—are destroying public faith in the institution of a free press. This is a timely and entertaining book—which is more than I can say for most of the people in its gallery. (Brown, Tina )

Impassioned dissection of the rapid devolution of the media's power in today's political environment...pull[s] together the principal moments of the ongoing struggles between the press and the government. (Publishers Weekly )

Crawford . . . is a Washington insider, a purveyor of inside wisdom and a collector of mind-numbing detail. (Shribman, David St. Petersburg Times )

Provocative. . . . Mr. Crawford's book serves as a useful introduction to the issue at hand, providing a persuasive sketch of how the current White House, with assists from its two predecessors and a changing media landscape, has worked to undermine the mainstream press. (Michiko Kakutani New York Times )

Crawford often writes engagingly and has his moments of perceptiveness and clarity. (Sullivan, Margaret Washington Monthly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (August 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742538168
• ISBN-13: 978-0742538160
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,322,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Craig Crawford (http://craigcrawford.com/) was born in 1956 in Owensboro, Kentucky at Davies County Hospital (which happens to be the same facility where actor Johnny Depp took human form some years later). His parents, Bill Crawford, a road builder, and Tabitha ("Toby") Craig, a school teacher, gambled on a new life in Florida when Craig was three years old. To this day, the family calls Orlando home, although work requirements mostly keep Craig and David Blank, his domestic partner since 1987, stuck in the belly of the beast, Washington, D.C. Craig is a blogger for CQ Politics (Congressional Quarterly), a contributing analyst for MSNBC, a frequent guest on "Imus in the Morning" (WABC-NYC) and the author of three books: "Attack the Messenger," "The Politics of Life," and, most recently, "Listen Up, Mr. President," co-authored with Helen Thomas (http://helenthomas.org/). Publishers Weekly: "Listen Up, Mr. President" is a "how-to guide to the American presidency . . . not, at heart, for those who would be president but for those who would elect one." Follow Craig on Twitter at http://twitter.com/craig_crawford

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fantastic book!, September 10, 2005

By 

Marisa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media (American Political Challenges) (Hardcover)

Once I picked it up I didn't want to put it down again. Craig Crawford has provided compelling and insightful criticism of the role of politicians and the press in the erosion of public trust in the media. A sobering look at the intersection of politics and media as it exists today. A must read for consumers of news and information, but should be of particular interest to students of Journalism, Public Policy and Political Science.

Craig offers much needed historical context for the breakdown in trust between the politicians, the press and the public. He makes an eloquent case for the importance of a free press to a healthy democracy. We all benefit when the press is free to serve its ultimate purpose of watchdog and informant for the public, and we all suffer when that process is eroded. Everyone should read this book.

Buy this book! Buy this book! Seriously, you'll be glad you did.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Needed Debate, September 16, 2005

By 

C. Todd - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media (American Political Challenges) (Hardcover)

Crawford brings to the mainstream a debate that's been taking place among journalists for years. As citizen journalism grows, the power of the "MSM" will only grow as someone will always be looked to, to call "balls and strikes." This means the strategy of politicians (no matter their party) attacking the media will continue. (The Clintons were just as bad about attacking the media, er, messenger, as the Bushes) And this book details just how harmful the discrediting of journalism is to the Republic.

Crawford has a unique ability to see things with a vision most in DC don't have. It helps that Crawford never forgets his roots, something that's always refreshing during his must listen to appearances on "Imus." He's never a "conventional wisdom" rehasher.

Crawford also brings to light the debate about "bias." He correctly reminds readers that all journalists have bias. Sometimes the bias is for an ideology, sometimes for a person and sometimes for an issue. A good journalist is "Fair and Biased."

Bottom line, whether you are a casual follower of politics or an up-and-coming journalist/blogger, this is a must read book. You won't be disappointed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attack the Messenger, October 15, 2005

By 

Robert M. Marshall (Vienna, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media (American Political Challenges) (Hardcover)

Mr. Crawford's pulling back the curtain that surrounds the media/political world that is Washington DC is both compelling and more then a little scary.

His examples of how the First Amendment is damaged by the constant battling between the press and polaticans are troubling for all that believe that a free press is the only tool Americans have to protect our freedoms.

Crawford's insights are sharp and unique and therefore a must read for anyone that's interested in the present art of "the spin" and how it's used for both good and evil.