The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again [Hardcover]

Robert W. McChesney (Author), John Nichols (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1568586051 | ISBN-13: 978-1568586052 | Edition: 1

Daily newspapers are closing across America. Washington bureaus are shuttering; whole areas of the federal government are now operating with no press coverage. International bureaus are going, going, gone.

Journalism, the counterbalance to corporate and political power, the lifeblood of American democracy, is not just threatened. It is in meltdown.

In The Death and Life of American Journalism, Robert W. McChesney, an academic, and John Nichols, a journalist, who together founded the nation’s leading media reform network, Free Press, investigate the crisis. They propose a bold strategy for saving journalism and saving democracy, one that looks back to how the Founding Fathers ensured free press protection with the First Amendment and provided subsidies to the burgeoning print press of the young nation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two respected media authorities, McChesney, a radio host of Media Matters, and Nichols, the Nation's Washington, D.C., correspondent, spell out the rapid decline of and possible financial solutions for American journalism in their new book. The Old School print journalism empire, the authors write, is crumbling: weeklies and daily newspapers closing down; thousands of reporters and editors getting the pink slip, and Washington bureaus and other areas of federal government assigned less coverage. Although McChesney and Nichols point out the true culprits in the fall of the national press, such as the Internet, the ownership of the press and TV news shows by profit-hungry large media conglomerates, and hard economic times, they are excessively upbeat when calling for a new era of experimentation in which a hybrid of old and new media emerges. In this powerful book on the shrinking American media, the authors accurately explain its current crisis, but fall somewhat short in solving the many challenges confronting journalism, including major subsidies when the public has little stomach for that. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* American newspapers are dying at an alarming rate, killed off by a failing corporate model that puts profits before journalism and a reliance on advertisers who are flocking to the Internet. Respected journalists McChesney and Nichols offer historical perspective—how we got into this sorry state—and analysis from journalists, economists, and advocates on how we might be able to get out of it. They cite statistics, chronicling efforts to move newsgathering to the Internet and the success of many bloggers who rely on aggregated news from old media. Their bottom line: without some kind of government support, journalism as we know it will not survive. Despite resistance to the idea of government support of media, they point to postal subsidies dating back to the 1700s. They also offer the model of government and philanthropic support of media in Britain (the BBC and the Guardian), as well as the much leaner history of government support for public broadcasting in the U.S. Among their suggestions: worker and community cooperative ownership of local media and quasi nonprofit news organizations. The authors argue passionately for radical solutions but also offer an exhilarating vision for the direction of American journalism. --Vanessa Bush

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books; 1 edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568586051
• ISBN-13: 978-1568586052
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars honesty in media January 16, 2010

By Gunther Purdue

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is another in a long line of enlightening and valuable studies by the authors pertaining the role of big business in the demise of American news media in the name of profit. It is required reading for anyone concerned with the loss of the democratic values that once served as the foundation of journalistic enterprise.

54 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Be afraid of small-minded critics. January 16, 2010

By Bruce W. Fraser

Format:Kindle Edition

Not only is this book NOT radical, it is intelligently written, well-researched, timely, and important. A functional democracy requires a healthy press, and clearly the US press is suffering under the influence of private capital. (Fox News is the poster child of our moribund press, but it is not alone). Public investment in journalism is a refreshing idea and one that should be take seriously.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to think about the press June 27, 2010

By Forrest Burtnette

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The authors point out that Jefferson, Madison, Washington and Franklin along with the majority of the other founding fathers wanted a goverenment-subsidized press. Even Hamilton wanted it, and he was one of the most laisez-faire founders. They all recognized the importance of keeping the people informed. I have to admit of all the programming on TV, I think the government-subsidized PBS the most edifying channel on TV. Democracy does not work without a truly vibrant press. Both democracy and the press are in peril in America, and the authors point out that this is no coincidence, as they are inextricably linked. Some would say federal subsidies for journalism is a radical idea, but it is actually a very old, thoroughly american idea. We as a people have just been duped into thinking that the free market will sort it all out and supply quality news. Although NBC, CNN, FOX etc. report some stories well, like hurricanes and sporting events, the sensitive stories about corruption are usually watered down or cartoonishly-sensationalized. Thousands of exposees never get writen because of the lack of investigative journalism at many news firms. This deprives the public of critical information they need to intelligently vote. McChesney and Nichols argue that we make decisions on what we know. What we know about current events and government is obtained mostly from the media. Why not return to the way of thinking about the press when the country was first formed? It is not enough for government to just not interfere with free press. It is government's job to actively promote a free press, because as John C. Calhoun proclaimed in the early 1800s, "The mail and the press are the nerves of the body politic".