Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media [Hardcover]

Eric Klinenberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805078193 | ISBN-13: 978-0805078190 | Publication Date: January 9, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

A groundbreaking investigative work by a critically acclaimed sociologist on the corporate takeover of local news and what it means for all Americans

For the residents of Minot, North Dakota, Clear Channel Communications is synonymous with disaster. Early in the morning of January 18, 2002, a train derailment sent a cloud of poisonous gas drifting toward the small town. Minot's fire and rescue departments attempted to reach Clear Channel, which owned and operated all six local commercial radio stations, to warn residents of the approaching threat. But in the age of canned programming and virtual DJs, there was no one in the conglomerate's studio to take the call. The people of Minot were taken unawares. The result: one death and more than a thousand injuries.

Opening with the story of the Minot tragedy, Eric Klinenberg's Fighting for Air takes us into the world of preprogrammed radio shows, empty television news stations, and copycat newspapers to show how corporate ownership and control of local media has remade American political and cultural life. Klinenberg argues that the demise of truly local media stems from the federal government's malign neglect, as the agencies charged with ensuring diversity and open competition have ceded control to the very conglomerates that consistently undermine these values and goals.

Such "big media" may not be here to stay, however. Fighting for Air delivers a call to action, revealing a rising generation of new media activists and citizen journalists--a coalition of liberals and conservatives--who are demanding and even creating the local coverage they need and deserve.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Eric Klinenberg has written an extraordinary and powerful account of the devastating elimination of localism in U.S. media and journalism, and how Americans from all walks of life are rising up to challenge the great media crisis that grips our nation today. Brilliantly written and tightly argued, Fighting for Air is the perfect book for anyone wanting to understand what is going on in this country, and why it is so important to our future."--Robert W. McChesney, author of The Problem of the Media

 

"Eric Klinenberg has given us a chilling report on how the American news media, increasingly concentrated, have made a mockery of the commitment to operate 'in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.' Admirably researched and lucidly written, Fighting for Air should serve as a wake-up call on the deafness of radio and television to communal needs." --Daniel Schorr, Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio

 

"Big media conglomerates--in radio, TV and newspapers--have taken over local outlets all over America, silencing independent local voices. Eric Klinenberg has done a masterful job of researching what has happened to America's local news media. Fighting for Air is a must-read for anyone who cares about the role of the media in a democracy."--George Lakoff, author of Don't Think of an Elephant!

 

"Fighting for Air is a richly detailed, compelling, and timely investigation into the problem of the U.S. media and what people are doing to take it back.  Klinenberg pulls back the curtain on complex media policy issues, with stories of real people, how they have been harmed by Big Media, and follows up with inspiring tales of underdogs who are fighting back and winning.  This book is a call to action to fight for a strong, vigorous, independent media."--Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of Democracy Now!

About the Author

Eric Klinenberg, associate professor of sociology at New York University, is the author of the highly acclaimed Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. The recipient of numerous academic awards and fellowships, Klinenberg has also written for Rolling Stone, The Nation, and Slate.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books; First Edition edition (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805078193
• ISBN-13: 978-0805078190
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #786,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Klinenberg is Professor of Sociology, Public Policy, and Media, Culture, and Communications at New York University, and editor of the journal Public Culture. His new book, Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, will be published in February 2012 by the Penguin Press.

Klinenberg's first book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, won six scholarly and literary prizes (and was a Favorite Book selection by the Chicago Tribune), and was praised as "a dense and subtle portrait" (Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker); "a remarkable, riveting account" (American Prospect); "intellectually exciting" (Amartya Sen); and a "trenchant, persuasive tale of slow murder by public policy" (Salon). A theatrical adaptation of Heat Wave premiered in Chicago in 2008, and Judith Helfand is directing a feature documentary based on the book.

Professor Klinenberg's second book, Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media, was called "politically passionate and intellectually serious," (Columbia Journalism Review), "a must-read for those who wonder what happened to good radio, accurate reporting and autonomous public interest" (Time Out New York), and "eye-opening ...required reading for conscientious citizens" (Kirkus). Since its publication, he has testified before the Federal Communications Commission and briefed the U.S. Congress on his findings.

In addition to his books and scholarly articles, Klinenberg has contributed to popular publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, The London Review of Books, The Nation, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, Slate, and the radio program This American Life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Critical Contribution to the Field, January 16, 2007

By 

Harold Feld "Activist Lawyer" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media (Hardcover)

As a participant in the "media reform movement" who has witnessed and participated in the events Klinenberg describes, I found his observations accurate and his analysis penetrating. I have full review on my professional blog. To give the teaser:

Anyone who wants to understand the media reform movement should buy this book. More importantly, this is the book to give your friends and relatives so that they can understand why the media reform movement matters, and why it will succeed in transforming the media landscape despite the multi-billion dollar forces arrayed against it.

Others have written excellent books on the rise of media concentration and why it sucks rocks. What makes Fighting for Air different, and therefore a must read, is that it chronicles the history of the media reform *movement*. Certainly you will understand by the end of the book why media concentration has inspired a movement of people dedicated to stopping further consolidation and reversing the effects of our increasingly centralized and homogenized media. But this realization comes through the telling of the stories of the movement -- its people, its victories, and its set backs.
[...]

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Figthing for Air is essential reading for understanding media reform, January 16, 2007

By 

Gregory Rose (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media (Hardcover)

Dr. Klinenberg has provided a valuable service to Americans in his excellent historical and sociological study of media consolidation, its implications for access, content, and justice at both the national and local levels, and the growing movement to challenge consolidation. The work is a model of scholarship for a mass audience, meticulously documenting both the secondary literature and the extensive interviews Klinenberg has conducted with numerous industry and movement figures, while losing none of the immediacy of a compelling narrative and persuasive argument. Clearly and concisely Klinenberg marshals a compelling case.

My only criticism is that a more extensive discussion of the political economy of consolidation and its wider context in the US and international economies, and a more detailed critique of the failed libertarian economic paradigm which was used to sell consolidation to policymakers would be useful. But that would be asking for a much longer and more complicated book, and one which would probably not have done as admirable a job in explaining in simple and direct terms the complexities of consolidation and its dreadful consequences of American public life.

I recommend Fighting for Air as essential reading for anyone who wants to understand this vital area of public policy.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What to do about media consolidation should be the #1 issue in the 2008 election., February 27, 2007

By 

Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media (Hardcover)

The genie is out of the bottle. Over the past 15 years our radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines have been gobbled up by a handful of media conglomerates. Turn on the radio in just about any city in this nation and you will hear the same tired and unimaginative programming. Local content has largely been eliminated on a good many of these stations and the number of commercials has increased dramatically. In many of our largest cities media companies are allowed to operate up to 8 radio stations, 3 televisions stations, cable TV service and even the local newspaper. It is an alarming state of affairs to say the least! In his new book "Fighting For Air: The Battle To Control America's Media" author Eric Klinenberg brings these critical issues to our attention. While the American public has been asleep at the switch our President, the Congress and those who are supposed to regulate such matters have allowed companies like Clear Channel, Entercom, Citadel and Infinity to gobble up our local media. If you have grown tired of all of the canned programming and recognize the importance that local media outlets have played throughout American history then this is a book you should definitely consider.

So how did this happen? Over the past two decades our government has been "deregulating" media. At one time, no company was allowed to own more than one television station in a community. The number of radio stations were also strictly regulated. And the FCC would never have allowed a company that owned a major daily newspaper to own a television station in the same town. All of this began to change in the 1980's as broadcasters cried poverty and declared that they were having a difficult time turning a profit. There was some truth to this claim, particularly for small to medium size AM radio stations. Broadcasters petitioned to have ownership restrictions relaxed and as you will see the deregulation of our media began in earnest in the late 80's. Perhaps the most dramatic and controversial measure was the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In one fell swoop Congress and the FCC eliminated the national station ownership limit altogether and raised local limits from four to as many as eight radio stations in some communities. As a result of this legislation, Clear Channel now controls more than 1200 local radio stations in the United States. A funny thing happened as local radio and television stations were gobbled up by the media giants...local programming began to disappear. The change is most noticable on the radio where thousands of local hosts have been let go. Talk shows that used to focus on local issues have been replaced by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. And that guy giving you the weather on your local TV station may be based in a city hundreds or maybe even thousands of miles from your town.

Eric Klinenberg does an outstanding job of framing these issues for his readers. There is so much at stake here. It matters not your political persuasion. Each and every one of us has lost something precious. It is high time that the American people began to fight back! "Fighting For Air: The Battle To Control America's Media" is a great way to educate yourself about these extremely important issues. But we face an uphill fight. For obvious reasons you will never hear or see these issues discussed and debated on the major networks nor will you see them written about in the major newspapers in this country. Once you understand this, you will then begin to realize why so many Americans are convinced that the short-sighted and irresponsible consolidation of the media should rank as the top issue in the upcoming election. We must demand accountability from our elected officials. This is a comprehensive and well written book and one that I can highly recommend!