The Death of Media: And the Fight to Save Democracy (Melville Manifestos) [Paperback]

Danny Schechter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0976658364 | ISBN-13: 978-0976658368 | Publication Date: September 1, 2005

In The Death of Media , Emmy Award-winning journalist Danny Schechter offers a blistering polemic about the unprecedented interest in media reform—from protests by Pope John Paul II to local radio DJs—that signals the end of media as we know it.

But Schechter doesn’t tell the story you might expect, that of the blogosphere replacing daily newspapers. Rather, he chronicles new players—including Google, a diverse world of independent outlets, and media reform movement—while showing how they have carefully organized around issues in traditional media.

Convinced that “we can’t fix America without fixing the media,” The Death of Media shows why the fight to change our media is bigger than any political fight yet.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Danny Schechter is the executive editor of Mediachannel.org, the world’s largest online media issues network, where he also maintains a daily media blog. One of the first producers of CNN, he later won two Emmys as a producer for ABC’s 20/20. His books include The More You Watch, The Less You Know, and he is an independent filmmaker, whose work includes WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception, which analyzes media coverage of the Iraq war.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Melville House (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976658364
• ISBN-13: 978-0976658368
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.5 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,552,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a guide to indie film and media, November 28, 2005

By 

Thomas Dworkin (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Media: And the Fight to Save Democracy (Melville Manifestos) (Paperback)

This is a short book, but it is an important one. It's actually so short that you might actually read it. And it's not a bad introduction to some of the craziness that has been going on at the FCC and PBS. If you have only been watching the evening news, it is a great first step. I grew up listening to Schechter on the radio. He tells the news like nothing that you would believe.
My favorite part of this little book is Schechter's observations about independent filmmaking. Schechter was behind the independent film WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception a couple of years back, and here he shares his own experiences about how and why he made the film. When you think about how little the mainstream media did to tell the story of the lead up to the Iraq War, you realize that documentaries have a huge role to play in our media landscape. Now all of the big media is going back, looking over their records and trying to figure out what went wrong with their reporting. But the alternative media, and Schechter himself, told the story almost as it was happening. This dedication to following the story seems to define a new generation of media makers, ones that work outside the big TV networks. Schechter also talk about self-syndicating to PBS stations and other tricks to get one's media message out into the world.
In short, he is talking about how the "good guys" work in today's media.
The book also ends on a really funny note about Pope John Paul II and the last official letter that he wrote before his death. It turns out that he wanted the media to reform itself. Schechter notes that this story was almost entirely covered up, even though the American media made a nauseating media spectacle out of the Pope's last days. This book is worth it for his little section alone. It is almost as if the mainstream media didn't want you to know about media reform....

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The News Dissector, November 28, 2005

By 

Andrea Beckman (Spring Hope, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Media: And the Fight to Save Democracy (Melville Manifestos) (Paperback)

I think Chomsky said it best: Danny Schechter has "literally educated a generation." Always check out his blog, www.newsdissector.org, which is always enlightening. But this book is also a nice treat for folks who have not followed Schechter closely. He takes on the American media in a whole new way.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When Media Undermines Democracy, November 28, 2005

By 

Sarah Elaine (Drumright, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Media: And the Fight to Save Democracy (Melville Manifestos) (Paperback)

Schechter has made me realize that the battle to save America's media from ideologues, corporate interests, and casual censorship is already going strong. He's compiled a big list of folks who are already at work on this important issue, and he tells you about much of the work they have been doing. Think pirate radio and IndyMedia, but also think about free WiFi Internet and news professionals in revolt. Amid much talk about blogs, here is a guy who gives real examples of folks who are opening up the media.