Bad News: Where the Press Goes Wrong in the Making of the President [Paperback]

Robert Shogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2002

Prize-winning reporter Robert Shogan draws on the lessons of nine presidential elections to show where the press goes wrong in the making of the president. The media, Mr. Shogan argues, now play the role of enablers. Without fully realizing it, they allow and abet the abuse of the political process by the candidates and their handlers. Shogan has got it right....Bad News is a wake-up call for journalists everywhere. --Sam Donaldson, ABC News. If there is such a thing as a good book about 'bad news,' this is it. --David S. Broder, Washington Post

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The problem with the media, contends veteran political reporter and author Shogan (The Double Edged Sword, etc.), is that they "allow and sometimes abet the abuse of the political process by the candidates and their handlers." In this carefully crafted retrospective on the media and presidential campaigns since JFK, Shogan explains how this state of affairs has occurred, highlighting how politics and the media have changed. In politics, parties and party bosses no longer really matter that much. A candidate has become an "independent political entrepreneur," who must market himself or herself to the public, and the best way to do that, argues Shogan, is to sell image (warm and fuzzy for the candidate, as negative as possible for the opponent) over substance, "not information or ideas but illusions and impressions." Thus the media have become an increasingly important marketing tool for candidates, and the media's reliance on more sophisticated technology which translates into ever more and ever shorter deadlines causes their willingness to publish whatever candidates may offer. Substance, explanation and research have become rare things in modern political journalism, according to Shogan. The loser is the American people, who grow increasingly cynical about campaigns that don't seem to be about much of anything. While pessimistic about change Shogan thinks only a major overhaul of the political system can make politics truly matter again he does believe reporters can offer the public real news and meaningful stories, and he challenges them to do so in this highly readable chronicle.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In the aftermath of the disastrous presidential campaign of 2000, media analysts continue to engage in painful self-analysis in an attempt to figure out what went wrong. Shogan, a respected political journalist (Newsweek) and author (The Double-Edged Sword), shines a bright and not very complimentary spotlight on the media, arguing that their performance in the 2000 campaign was one of the poorest in modern history. Arguing that highly critical coverage probably cost Al Gore the presidency, the author asserts that it is not ideological bias but the drive of professional forces that skews modern reporting. Seeking to beat deadlines and top the competition made intense by the proliferation of media outlets vying for viewer attention, the coverage becomes superficial and distorted. Thus, the media fill the role of "enablers" for candidates and their handlers. Shogan is hard on his own profession, offering an insightful and valuable guide to understanding why the media so often fail the public in campaign coverage. A valuable contribution to the public debate over the role of the media in presidential campaigns. Michael A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (August 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566634709
• ISBN-13: 978-1566634700
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,687,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Especially inviting for students of political science, July 5, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad News: Where the Press Goes Wrong in the Making of the President (Hardcover)

Robert Shogan's Where The Press Goes Wrong In The Making Of The President outlines the turmoil of the 2000 presidential campaign and the underlying lessons to be learned from the news media's attempts to cover it. But this also draws on nine presidential elections to provide a thorough analysis of how the press is actively involved in the election process in a title which will prove especially inviting for students of political science.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Important topic; shallow coverage., September 3, 2001

By 

slomamma (San Luis Obispo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad News: Where the Press Goes Wrong in the Making of the President (Hardcover)

IÕm a bit of a political junky, but an unusual one in that I get almost all my news from print. Before I was old enough to vote I realized that television news didnÕt have much to tell me, and I stopped watching. Except for election results, and an occasional breaking story, I havenÕt watched television news since Nixon was president. Still, I realize that itÕs where most Americans get their news, and so IÕm curious about how it covers candidates and how (or if) it shapes opinions. ThatÕs why I picked up this book Š a survey of how the media (especially television) have covered presidential elections since 1968.

I was very disappointed. I rarely pay attention to t.v. coverage, but even I knew almost everything in here. Robert Shogan has been covering presidential elections since 1948. I expected some professional insight, a few peeks behind the scenes, at least some thought-provoking opinions. Forget it. This is a bland recitation of everything you already know -- the press doesnÕt understand much about the making of a president, the press is more interested in the horse race than the issues, charismatic candidates do better than substantive ones on t.v., politicians avoid talking about issues and the press lets them get away with it. Is there anyone with even a mild interest in politics who doesnÕt know this already?

The lack of insight is especially frustrating in ShoganÕs coverage of the 2000 election, which the media tripped all over itself trying to cover. Surely all the mistakes the media made in reporting on the election and its aftermath offers plenty of material for analyzing exactly how the media messes up when it tries to cover elections. But no. Shogan tells us the press adored McCain Š which was pretty obvious Š but doesnÕt offer an opinion about why. McCain was an underdog, but the press isnÕt always kind to underdogs Š they certainly werenÕt kind to Bradley, Buchanan, or Nader. Shogan argues that the press went a lot easier on Bush than Gore, even though the majority of reporters probably voted Democratic. But once again, he offers no explanation of this paradox.

I think this book deals with an important topic. It just doesnÕt cover it very well. Shogan accuses the press of dealing superficially with presidential elections. But in the end I think this book is guilty of the same superficiality.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad News: Where the Press Goes Wrong in the Making of the President (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed with this book. The ideas were not new and the coverage was very superficial. This could be forgiven if there wasn't such a clear bias in the book. There were shades of bias in the early chapters, but as the book moved into the more modern elections it became clear that Shogan has a serious axe to grind. His coverage of the 2000 election is particularly skewed. His disdain for President Bush is quite evident. An example of this disdain can be found in his summary of the 2000 election from page 243: "Here was the governor of Texas, possessed of slim credentials, a nondescript intellect, and an underwhelming persona running a nose ahead of the incumbent vice president of an administration that had presided over a time of unparalleled prosperity. What's wrong with this picture?"