Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media [Paperback]

Lee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0818405619 | ISBN-13: 978-0818405617 | Publication Date: August 25, 1998

"Committed, eloquent writings that plumb teh psychological and political complexities of mass-mediated experience." --San Francisco Chronicle

"An essential text." --Utne Reader

"More than helping to detect bias, "Unreliable Sources" tells the stories behind the stories called news. It should help build a national constituency for liberating media from all major constraints-- corporate as well as governmental." --George Gerbner, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Communications, The Annenberg School for Communications

"You gotta love these guys. Not only have Lee and Solomon written a timely consumer primer on conservative bias in reporting, they've done it with humor." --Washington Journalism Review

A vital handbook for deciphering widespread media bias. "Unreliable Sources" dissects news coverage of a wide range of issues-- taxes, the Persian Gulf, social security, abortion, drugs, environmental pollution, U.S.-Soviet relations, terrorism, the Third World-- and exposes the key stories that have been censored or glossed over by major media.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Associated with the media-watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), Lee ( Acid Dreams ) and Solomon ( Killing Our Own ) here document their assertion that the media have come to assume the role of spokespeople for the American business establishment, which allegedly runs the U.S. in general and Washington powerbrokers in particular--and whose press releases and other self-promoting testimonials often wend their way, verbatim, into newsprint. Citing the reluctance of newspapers and TV networks to present dissenting views on military spending, environmental pollution, economic policies that frustrate blacks and Hispanics, and American gunboat diplomacy in Latin America, they make a compelling case for the contention that newsmen and women distort current events. And though in the Reagan-Bush era, theirs is certainly a minority viewpoint, the authors remain convinced a change can be wrought.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

"The most sacred cow of the press is the press itself." In this book, Lee, publisher of Extra , the journal of the Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) organization, and Solomon, an investigative journalist, make mincemeat of that maxim and detail how often the press is biased. For example: many journalists just wade through their Rolodexes for sources; others make unobjective "we we" on the air ("When are we going to get Noriega?"); and stories on "unpopular" perspectives on race, gender, and politics often go unreported. While this book is most appropriate for serious media collections, all libraries would benefit from a book that advocates media activism, in which "one can learn to be a more critical consumer of the news."-- Judy Quinn, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 452 pages
• Publisher: Lyle Stuart (August 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0818405619
• ISBN-13: 978-0818405617
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,342,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly reliable source book on unreliable sources in news media, July 3, 2011

By 

Ali Darwish (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media (Paperback)

With media and communication studies becoming more and more popular in both academic and professional worlds, awareness of issues of integrity, validity and reliability of the news has become critical for both student and media worker. As journalism undergoes a shift of paradigm that no longer considers the traditional values of news relevant in the race and chase for political, cultural and economic supremacy worldwide, detecting unreliable sources and bias in news media becomes all the more critical in a world that is flooded by 24-hour news television networks that rely mostly on secondary and tertiary sources and news feeds from the Big Four (Reuters, AP, AFP and UPI). Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media,by Martin A. Lee and Norman Solomon is a source book ahead of its time. Published in 1990, this book stands out as a valuable guide for students, teachers and professionals of news media in a world that is rapidly changing. The book consists of 12 well-written chapters, supported by real-life examples. These chapters are sorted out into four parts: (1) The Story behind the Story; (2) The Media Elite; (3) Domestic Routines; (4) International Intrigues. Lee and Solomon skillfully review and analyze news media practices that produce bias and and create a hyper-reality. For those determined to know how to detect untruths in news media, this rich book is a prerequisite.

5.0 out of 5 stars essential reading, December 24, 2010

By 

jw - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media (Paperback)

Essential reading for the reasons why our media is so awful, biased and corrupted by corporate and government interests.

jw

15 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Important Book!, June 24, 2000

By 

JPM (Gardiner, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media (Hardcover)

This is one of the single most thought provoking books I've ever read. It provides the reader with a real behind the curtain look at the media and politics. This is a must read for every American!