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No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle
 
 
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No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle [Hardcover]

Howard Rosenberg (Author), Charles S. Feldman (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 5, 2008
An eviscerating look at the state of journalism in the age of the 24 hour news cycle by a Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic and a veteran news correspondent.

No Time To Think focuses on the insidious and increasing portion of the news media that, due to the dangerously extreme speed at which it is produced, is only half thought out, half true, and lazily repeated from anonymous sources interested in selling opinion and wild speculation as news. These news item can easily gain exposure today, assuming a life of their own while making a mockery of journalism and creating casualties of cool deliberation and thoughtful discourse. Much of it is picked up gratuitously and given resonance online or through CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other networks, which must, in this age of the 24-hour news cycle, "feed the beast."

In dissecting this frantic news blur, No Time to Think breaks down a number of speed-driven blunders from the insider perspective of Charles Feldman, who spent 20 years as a CNN correspondent, as well as the outsider perspective of Howard Rosenberg, who covered the coverage for 25 years as TV critic for The Los Angeles Times.

No Time to Think demonstrates how today's media blitz scrambles the public's perspective in ways that potentially shape how we think, act and react as a global society. The end result effects not only the media and the public, but also the government leaders we trust to make carefully considered decisions on our behalf. Featuring interviews ranging from former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw to internet doyenne Arianna Huffington to PBS stalwart Jim Lehrer to CNN chief Jonathan Klein to a host of former presidential press secretaries and other keen-eyed media watchers, this incisive work measures lasting fallout from the 24-hour news cycle beginning in 1980 with the arrival of CNN, right up to the present.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pulitzer Prize winner Rosenberg teams with veteran journalist Feldman to argue that the 24-hour news cycle has degraded the news media and failed consumers in this indignant, often reactionary examination. The authors' premise, that a demand for a constant flow of information via the Internet and cable news networks has led to inaccuracies in reporting, is a popular refrain and one with merit. The many quotes the authors have collected from media giants such as Jim Lehrer and Arianna Huffington present the challenges facing news outlets as changing technologies, most notably the Internet, interact with traditional media. However, the book's heavy-handed editorializing and unfocused gaze muddle the argument, and the many regressions into finger pointing and personal attacks seem out of place amongst such serious considerations. While the authors' ultimate conclusion-that consumer literacy is the best defense against biased and untrustworthy news-is well-taken, flippant dismissals of bloggers (referred to as "nimble-fingered Crackerjacks"), multi-media reporting and alternative news sources undermine this larger point and don't provide any new answers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The breezy style of this critique belies the incredible research behind it, as Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Rosenberg and investigative journalist Feldman explore the impact of the amped-up, overwrought nature of modern news gathering. The authors talked to a wide range of reporters, including Arianna Huffington, Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw, and others, from sources as divergent as CNN News, the Drudge Report, and Access Hollywood, to present a look at the competitive forces at work in speeding news coverage at the cost of accuracy, never mind insight and reflection. Amid predictions that politics this year is moving at the speed of the Internet, with the blogosphere kicking around reaction to campaign news that has yet to make it onto television, Rosenberg and Feldman worry that the speed of news gathering is shaping the news, and not for the better. They offer a history of increasingly speedy news coverage from newsreels to radio and television to the Internet, as well as a diary of blogging and an absorbing dialogue between the two as they look back over their own careers and experiences. Often humorous, completely engrossing. --Vanessa Bush

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Continuum (October 5, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0826429319
  • ISBN-13: 978-0826429315
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,269,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Angry, Funny, and Very Very Important, October 1, 2008
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This review is from: No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle (Hardcover)
This is a subject I've been annoyed/frustrated about for ages, so its great to see a book like this published. Basically, the two authors - one who worked for CNN, the other for Los Angles Times - believe that part of the reason our society is in danger of going down the pan is that news media is no longer about "news" any more. It consists almost entirely of opinion, speculation, and ridiculous combinations of those two, presented and disguised as news. The authors chart the history and development of news media, but focus very much on two things that have changed the landscape entirely: the birth of cable news, and the creation of the internet. I should admit that most of the jokes in the chapter about "blogging" probably went over my head, but this is an incredibly readable book about journalism, truth, dignity, and how on earth our politicians are supposed to function properly when there's an endless screaming demand for opinion and instant answers to everything.

Is there anyway to stop this all from spiraling out of control? The authors aren't sure, but they do have one or two suggestions at the end of the book. But do yourself a favor and read this book: its alarming, and terrifying at times, but it will make you look at news media in a whole new light.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Why this ex-news junkie can no longer bear to watch most cable news., February 20, 2009
This review is from: No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle (Hardcover)
NEWSTRITIONAL FACTS
Serving Size.................................................... 8 hours
News................................................................ 26 minutes (6%)
News Analysis................................................18 minutes (4%)
Opinion.............................................................128 minutes (30%)
Rumor and Innuendo.....................................28 minutes (7%)
Speculation.......................................................84 minutes (20%)
Idle Chatter.......................................................16 minutes (4%)
Self-Flattery........................................................20 minutes (5%)
Complete Bullshit............................................100 minutes (24%)

This interesting graphic from the final chapter of "No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-Hour News Cycle" illustrates what the "newstritional" label might look like if the 24 hour cable news networks were required to honestly list the content of their programming. It looks fairly accurate to me. According to co-authors Howard Rosenberg (TV critic for the Los Angeles Times) and Charles S. Feldman (a former CNN reporter) the quality of the product being offered by cable news outlets has steadily deteriorated over the past decade or more. Clearly the lines between fact and opinion, news and commentary have been blurred. Opinionated hosts, panels of "talking heads", reporters talking to other reporters and network generated polling has replaced the thoughtful and diligent pursuit of newsworthy stories. The moguls at these networks have evidently determined that in this is the stuff that audiences really want to see. Sadly, they appear to be correct. The "dumbing down" of America continues.
But the problems discussed in "No Time To Think" are not indigenous to cable news alone. It is certainly no secret that many major newspapers in this country are in imminent danger of folding. These newsrooms are just a shell of their former selves. Staffs have been slashed across the board and journalistic standards substantially lowered. Rosenberg and Feldman cite a number of cases of inaccurate reporting by newspapers. It is all very discouraging. And of course no discussion about the inadequacies of the 24 hour news cycle would be complete without taking a long, hard look at what is going down on the internet. Here in this totally unregulated environment misinformation is disseminated at blinding speed. While there are certainly many responsible websites and bloggers out there they appear to be vastly outnumbered by those who are not. On many of these sites rumor and innuendo rule the day. No time is taken to verify information and as a result the reputations of businesses, institutions and individuals can be ruined in just a matter of minutes. Very scary!
"No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle" is a sobering look at what journalism has become in America. It is not a pretty picture. Personally, I opted out of the cable news shows quite a while ago. I really don't give a damn what Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann think about anything. Likewise I have absolutely no interest in celebrity news and much of the other fluff being offered up by these networks. I have come to the conclusion that my time is far better spent reading books. When cable news and the major networks return to the idea of "getting it right" rather than "getting it first" maybe I will give them another look. Unfortunately, Howard Rosenberg and Charles Feldman see very little evidence that this will happen any time soon. Recommended reading.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Great Story... needs some work, January 27, 2011
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This review is from: No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle (Hardcover)
Ironic that this is about the speed of the news cycle - as this is quite a fast read. Very interesting, and by two very qualified authors. Main issue was there was some appalling editing (blatant spelling errors!), and didn't go into too much depth. Was also very US centric. However - very interesting analysis of the news cycle.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
citizen journalists, citizen journalism, media speed
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York Times, United States, Los Angeles, Fox News Channel, White House, New Protestant Reformation, Washington Post, All the News, Hillary Clinton, In-Depth Instant Results, Barack Obama, Desperate Newspapers Play Catch-Up, New Hampshire Primary, Drudge Report, Ten Grams Speculation, Five Grams News, Anderson Cooper, Super Tuesday, Jim Lehrer, Van Susteren, Adam Foxman, Hodding Carter, Two Revolutions, Tom Brokaw, Evening News
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