Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, And Destroy Democracy [Paperback]

John Nichols (Author), Robert W. McChesney (Author), Tom Tomorrow (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Nichols, a correspondent for theNation, and McChesney, a journalism professor, excoriate the media for failure to hold politicians accountable for their words and deeds, thereby failing in their responsibility to protect American democracy. The authors examine current media practices in the context of press freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the concepts held by the Founding Fathers. The troubling recent presidential elections and the war in Iraq--and the lackluster reporting by the media--are the latest in a long trend toward a kind of corporate media that treats Americans as consumers rather than citizens. The authors compare manipulation of American news reporting and elections to practices of the Soviet Union at its strongest, with the political Right exerting more control of the news cycle. The authors also examine some promising trends--including the Internet and creation of independent media. The book includes interviews with John Kerry, Howard Dean, Barack Obama, and other key political figures, exploring concerns about the media's role in democracy. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A short, fast-paced book, scenic like a good film script, steeped in the irony and horror of war. -- The Los Angeles Times

An eye for the perfect image, a wonderful ear for dialogue and a prose style that floats across the page. -- Las Vegas Mercury

Essential reading. -- The San Diego Union-Tribune --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 211 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595581294
• ISBN-13: 978-1595581297
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Were People This Stupid Before There Was TV?, November 22, 2005

By 

Sunshine Greeny (The Wonderful World of Colonized Minds) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy (Hardcover)

"A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both." ~ James Madison, 1822

Oh sure, Noam Chomsky's been exposing the illusory, beguiling nature of our democracy and Power's reliance on media systems to secure necessary illusions of a 'benevolent,' representative form of government through the deceptive "manufacturing" of the people's consent for forty or so years [TRULY a rebel without a pause!], but it hasn't been until the past five years that this grim dilemma has finally begun to be rightfully acknowledged and addressed by so many. Although, as dire as the current state of affairs is, it's important to bear in mind one of Chomsky's observations: *never* in his long life of activism has he ever encountered such demonstratively global dissent as is happening now. He isn't given to hyperbole, and the fact that millions are speaking out, getting active and subsequently applying pressure to tyrannical Power is a hopeful sign.

John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney, founders of the national media reform group FREE PRESS, have put together a book of solid, fact-based information that reveals our so-called "liberal" free media to be little more than statist/corporate propaganda. It's bizarre to contemplate how the majority of people in the U.S. simply do not or will not comprehend that reality, but it does speak to the efficacy of control and the power of suggestion. Nichols and McChesney, however, don't merely point out the flagrant deficiencies, they also shed light on the popular movements which have had greater success through the internet and alternative/indie media, and naturally, bring forth facts strategically framed, omitted and de-emphasized through mainline media {*not* just FOX, but also CNN, MSNBC, the networks, newspapers, popular periodicals, etc} which serve to assiduously propagate the Pentagon's and the administration's pro-empire line.

Now, I've nothing against pundit/author, Al Franken, however, it is a bit disconcerting to note that his latest "kid gloves" book [again, nothing against him; he's sharp, comical, my wife gave me his prior book last Christmas, I enjoyed it] has over 300 Amazon reviews, some of them with over 600 votes, while something far more substantive like "Tragedy and Farce," or something by say, Chomsky, or Greg Palast, or Mark Crispin Miller, Howard Zinn, comparatively, flies outside of the collective radar.

Tis a shame, friends. Not because there's anything wrong with Franken, or any of the other high profile Lefty names, but because the media structure will gladly push such names front and center in order to keep the debate devoid of deception-exposing facts, and to confine it within a specified framework of accepted conjecture and name-calling...the ol' divide and rule scheme.

This happens because in order to be a recognized, household Lefty persona, self-censorship becomes second nature, knowing they must not go "too far" outside of the widely adhered-to, propagandized view of "reality" for fear of losing status. Michael Moore's notorious film {which didn't come remotely close to disclosing the administration's full range of treason and criminality} is an example of this. Sometimes there is a method of addressing such monstrous problems in that, one can cleverly crack the door a bit, knowing that The People will piece together what may not have been visibly apparent just below the surface of the propaganda.

So, compared with say, Franken's work, Nichols and McChesney's book figuratively says: 'here are the facts. what are you arguing over? here are the FACTS of selling wars and stealing elections. aside from how it clashes with your media-induced perception of reality, and, sorry if that is distressing, as it must surely be...but, HERE. ARE. THE. FACTS.'
And to quote Chomsky, "Facts are stubborn things."

Read "Tragedy and Farce,", and for an insightful look into the psychological dynamics of the right wing movement's {what David Neiwert termed, "Christo-fascism"} desire to subvert the constitution, and how Bush is actually the "Clinton" that the right and it's PR agency/media made the real Clinton out to be, *definitely* read Mark Crispin Miller's scathing "Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney's New World Order."

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock Solid Info From Two Professionals, November 4, 2005

By 

Jazz Man (Madison, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy (Hardcover)

Simpy a great book. Nichols and McChesney are two of the most informed and sharpest media critics around. Right wingers won't like this book because it destroys so many of the myths that they cling to. However facts are facts and the authors are expert at presenting them.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scathing indictment of American media coverage of the Iraqui War and the 2004 Presidential election., December 12, 2005

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: Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy (Hardcover)

The trend is unmistakable. Officials in Washington refer to what is happening to American media as "deregulation". Nothing could be further from the truth. What is really going on in this country is media consolidation. As a result one company, Clear Channel, now owns more than 1200 radio stations across America. A handful of other media conglomerates including Citadel, Entercom and Infinity control most of the rest. The same holds true for television stations and major newspapers. John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney find this to be an alarming situation. In "Tragedy and Farce" Nichols and McChesney present a compelling case for making the ongoing media consolidation the overriding public issue of our day.

For most of the history of the American republic there has existed a vibrant and diversified press. Most major cities had multiple daily newspapers reflecting a wide variety of opinion. Likewise most radio and television stations were locally owned and operated. In this environment the vast majority of these outlets were committed to covering local news and issues. Sadly in just the past quarter century all of this has changed dramatically. And as the authors passionately argue, no matter what your political persuasion, this is at the very least an unfortunate and at worst a potentially dangerous situation. At the beginning of Chapter 1 Nichols and McChesney quote Founding Father and former President James Madison who opined that "A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both." It is the contention of the authors that this unprecedented consolidation of American media has resulted in a situation where the American people are not being given adequate information to make intelligent decisions at the polls. Some may argue that this is just sour grapes from Nichols and McChesney who make no attempt to hide their "liberal" point of view. But for my money the authors present an extremely well thought out and coherent case for their position. Their analysis of the pathetic media coverage of the events leading up to the Iraqui War is right on target. They go on to make the case that American media coverage of the 2004 Presidential election was really not much better. Perhaps the most persuasive argument they make involves the so-called "Downing Street memo". This memo, which many considered to be the "smoking gun" against the Bush administration, suggested that President Bush decided to overthrow Saddam Hussein in the summer of 2002 and intentionally manipulated American intelligence to support his case. At the very least, release of this information should have set off a vigorous debate about our involvement in Iraq and about the veracity of our Commander-In-Chief. It should have become a major campaign issue in 2004. But as Nichols and McChesney are quick to point out the American media decided that other events that were going on at the time were much more important. And so it was that the American people were treated to wall-to-wall coverage of the goings on surrounding the likes of Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart and Scott Peterson. The dumbing down of America continues.

Whatever your political persuasion, "Tragedy and Farce" is a book which should be read and carefully considered. Unfortunately due to the ill-advised policies of the last several administrations the genie is already out of the bottle. What we have now is a media that is for the most part in the hip pocket of both political parties and extremely reluctant to make waves. Our Founding Fathers would be appalled!