Customer Reviews

When MBAs Rule the Newsroom

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Doug Underwood has clearly researched his topic, but unfortunately doesn't end up saying much in "When MBAs Rule the Newsroom." As the other Amazon reviewer said, you can pretty much get the main points of the book from the title and back cover, and most of the content is public knowledge. This book was SO frustrating to me because Underwood says the same exact thing in a million different word combinations. By the middle of the book, I started highlighting every sentence that basically said "old-style (Watergate-style) journalism is dead, it's the MBAs fault, the whole industry is profit-driven, and everyone is unhappy about it and at a loss for what to do to fix it." All valid points, but there is a sentence highlighted on 1 out of every 3 pages. I'm not kidding.

Overall, I found the book boring and lacking original substance. Every time I started reading a sentence that I thought was worth noting, by the time I got to the end of the sentence I would see that Underwood had noted it from other source! It was SO incredibly frustrating. I guess the book would make a good first read for a student doing a paper because it would lead directly to other sources, but I wouldn't recommend this book for someone just interested in the plight of the newspaper.

Ben Bagdikian seems to be the source for criticism and analysis on the turn the media has taken--his books are a must-read when exploring this subject. I see his name in nearly everything I read on this topic. If you're looking for an informative, yet pleasant and simple, almost fun read--c'mon, we're talking about media conglomerates here...not traditionally 'fun' stuff! :)-- try "The Business of Journalism" edited by Serrin. It's a collection of points of view from 10 or so people involved in various aspects of the industry. The short articles are interesting and informative and offer insight in a less textbook-style format. I think it would be an enjoyable and insightful read to anyone, not just a media-dork like me! Hope this helps!

Titles tell you a lot, often without meaning to. The title of this book suggests that Underwood has found all kinds of journalists who have earned MBAs getting promoted into top editors' jobs, MBA-bearing publishers barking orders in meetings with editors, and so on. Not so. Hardly an editor who holds an MBA can be found in the entire book (Mike Fancher at the Seattle Times is mentioned repeatedly, but after that, how many others were there in 1993 when this book was published or even now?). In fact, what becomes painfully obvious is how willing how many editors who don't have MBAs are to play corporate executive because of what it does for their pocketbooks and their egos--and how little faith editors have in themselves and their staffs to produce high quality journalism that the public wants and needs.

Second, the fact is that almost everything in this book was already public knowledge (found in publications such as American Journalism Review, Columbia Journalism Review, Quill, Editor & Publisher, Advertising Age, and so on). No fresh research, no fresh ideas, no fresh conclusions, and a title that is terribly misleading about the book's contents.