The Fair Reader: An Extra! Review of Press and Politics in the '90s (Critical Studies in Communication and in the Cultural Industries) [Paperback]

Jim Naureckas (Editor), Janine Jackson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813328039 | ISBN-13: 978-0813328034 | Publication Date: February 1996

Discussing issues relating to the press and politics in the 1990s, this is a collection of essays from "Extra!", the publication of the New York organization, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), which is dedicated to the principle that independent, aggressive and critical communications media are essential to an informed democracy. Among the topics covered are the Clarence Thomas hearings, the Gulf War, the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton and the communications media, health care, NAFTA, Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk-radio, and the crime scene. Each essay includes factual information about the topic and how it was reported.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In just about every major news story of the '90s from the U.S. invasion of Panama to the 1994 midterm elections, the major media has misled, misinformed and manipulated its audience. That's the overriding message in this exhaustive and occasionally overwhelming collection of articles culled from EXTRA!, the official publication of the New York-based Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). Whether the deception occurs because of laziness (reporters condemning the philosophies of assistant attorney general nominee Lani Guinier without bothering to read them) or government manipulation (during the Gulf War, the Pentagon curried favor by flying in U.S. reporters to cover "hometown troops"), it's chilling to be presented with evidence that the news outlets on whom most Americans rely are doing such a shoddy job. A few earn praise, but overall the tone is one of pedantic disapproval. That makes sense?FAIR is a media watchdog. But in addition to the relentless scolding, the editors might have answered some of the questions that they raise. Specifically: Why haven't more people attacked this trend? How can journalistic accountability be fostered? Equally troublesome is that many of the FAIR writers rely as much on statistics as the journalists they criticize. How is the reader to know whose numbers are valid? That said, this is a valuable collection, if for no other reason than it reminds readers to question everything.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Libraries subscribing to EXTRA!, the media review published by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), can skip this collection; where EXTRA! is not available, however, these articles from the late 1980s and the 1990s will fill a gap. To balance Reed Irvine's Accuracy in Media (AIM), which represents the "liberal bias" theory of what's wrong with the media, FAIR, most visibly represented by Jeff Cohen, scores the "corporate agenda" that colors and constrains the stories the media choose to report and the angles from which they report these stories. The collection includes articles on media coverage of the Bush and Clinton administrations, the 1992 and 1994 elections, and media scapegoating of various elements within society, such as teen mothers, the homeless, and "greedy geezers." From the Gulf War and Iran-Contra to media scandal-mongering, health care reform, crime hysteria, and the "war on immigration," The FAIR Reader's analyses shed light on who benefits when the nation's major newspapers and broadcast media cover--or choose not to cover--news stories the way they do. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Westview Pr (Short Disc) (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813328039
• ISBN-13: 978-0813328034
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,852,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)