Customer Reviews

The New Blue Media: How Michael Moore, MoveOn.org, Jon Stewart and Company Are Transforming Progressive Politics

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This is definitely an entertaining and informative book about the rise of the new liberal media. The author's sympathies lie with Michael Moore, MoveOn and the liberal blogs, but he doesn't hesitate to disagree with these groups--especially when they seem to be too close to the Democratic leadership. At the same time, he shows how the New Blue Media have shaken up the party. His accounts of the Dean campaign, first for president and then for the chair of Democratic National Committee, as well as the Ned Lamont campaign and the George Allen "Macaca" incident, are all very lively.

The author is less critical of The Onion, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, but he nevertheless shows how valuable their voices are. They are asking the critical questions about the war in Iraq and many other issues that the mainstream media ignore. The writing is sharp and the author often shows biting wit, as when he writes that "the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina was--naturally--disastrous" (p. 19). The author has little sympathy for anybody who supported the Iraq War, which means that fans of Bush and the Clintons won't like the book. Those coming of age in the era of Obama and Stephen Colbert will.

This is a must read book for anyone who is the least bit interested in how the Internet and shows like Jon Stewart's and Stephen Colbert are changing the political landscape.

The book also reminded me of a PBS special with the men and women from the old Your Show Of Shows (Mel Brooks included) from the early 50's where Mr. Brooks make the astute observation that when TV was new the only people who could afford the sets, were by and larger better educated and thus better paid. And because of this the viewer wanted shows that were mature thinking, and whose humor was the type that left something to the viewers imagination. Yet, as more and more people could afford a television set, things changed, and humor had to be more direct and less cerebral.

This is why shows like those Jon Stewart (The Daily Report) and The Colbert Report, remind me of early television and a more discerning viewer. I also read The Onion, and I did listen on occasion to Air America, but as the author notes, it became a tad tiring and less thought provoking because its seemed to want to mimic someone like Rush Limbaugh. I do agree with the author who touches upon the concern that progressive media be it television, radio or print, needs to also appeal to the blue colour listener.

It saddens me that so many progressives still see blue colour as being less educated and lower paid. But that's just my view. I consider myself blue color since I live in a rural area, live in less than someone in suburbia, and dropped out of college. Yet, being blue color doesn't mean I don't like political humor that is thought provoking, or isn't issue oriented.

I also like the book because it makes the reader see that television shows like Stewart's and Colberts, also allow humor that some people avoid, which does indeed make a person think! And the author is also VERY fair when it comes to critical observations of people like Michael Moore.

Mass media has always played a pivotal role in the transformation of the American political scene, whether it was in the form of FDR's fireside radio chats or JFK's natural charisma trouncing Nixon with his five-o'clock shadow in their televised debates. Theodore Hamm, founding editor of the NY-based arts and political monthly, the Brooklyn Rail, takes a sharp and concise look at the latest trends in media where satirical cable programs, vituperative documentaries and the all-encompassing blogosphere have become the prevalent media forms seizing the attention of Americans away from the more traditional news sources. In a scant 208 pages, the author paints a fresh picture of the new millennium as we witness a revitalized progressive movement unapologetically responding to the mainstream network conglomerates intent on endorsing the Bush administration's worldview.

As Hamm appropriately describes the alternative media as blue, there is no doubt there is a liberal bias to much of the coverage. One can read about it in the tweaking satire of the Onion or watch on TV the serpent's tooth wit of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Even more instantaneous news coverage can be found on highly trafficked sites like MoveOn and the Daily Kos. On the big screen, Michael Moore has been enjoying commercial success with Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko, both polarizing documentaries exposing the moral ambiguity of the Washington politicos. What Hamm does so well in his book is coalesce these various outlets into a cohesive chronicle of the new progressive media starting with the individuals who managed to combine irreverent humor with shrewdly pointed observations - Moore, Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Markos Moulitsas, Joan Blades and Wes Boyd of MoveOn. Most have become household names thanks to their innovative approaches, and Hamm makes their stories smart, entertaining reading.

Theodore Hamm has a keen, concise take on contemporary media. With wit and absolute clarity he brings alive the intricacies of bringing politics alive. A must for media analysis: professional or academic.

The New Blue Media: How Michael Moore, [...], Jon Stewart and Company Are Transforming Progressive Politics

Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

In 200 pages of text (the book is 240 pages long) and with 22 pages of notes, Hamm, editor of the Brooklyn Rail (an arts and political monthly) and associate professor of urban studies at Metropolitan College of New York, brings readers an incredibly interesting account (series of stories) about "a handful of media personalities, blogs, outlets, and politically based organizations--from The Onion to Jon Stewart to the Daily Kos." (From the front jacket) What he does is show where these "blue media" (Michael Moore, Bill Maher, Markos Moulitsas, Air America, MoveOn The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, as well as liberal blogs) came from and how they got so powerful. Hamm's writing is sharp (the front jacket describes it as acerbic), engaging, and irreverent. His command of facts as astounding, and his sense of humor is obvious and often demonstrated. As one reviewer noted, "fans of Bush and the Clintons won't like the book. Those coming of age in the era of Obama and Stephen Colbert will." Whether you are a professional, an academic, or a connoisseur of contemporary media, you will absolutely love this book for its sharp analysis, wit, and entertainment.