When News Lies [Paperback]

Danny Schechter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

When News Lies is the untold story of media war behind Iraq; the American government's efforts to manipulate war coverage; and the media's own timidity and reluctance to do its job-report the news to the public.Veteran author, video journalist, and media critic, Danny Schechter, takes us on a sometimes frightening, sometimes humorous journey behind the scenes of the media machine that sold us Operation Iraqi Freedom.This innovative new publishing format includes the full length DVD of Danny's award winning and controversial documentary, WMD-Weapons of Mass Deception.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Danny Schecter is not just another media watchdog. He is usually way ahead of the pack..." -- Tom Fenton, former chief foreign correspondent of CBS News and author of BAD NEWS (Harper Collins)

"This book should be considered required reading for anyone who cares..." -- Katherine Mosby, Author and Poet, Nominee for National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize

"With passion and precision, Danny Schechter shows us how American journalism became the servant of power..." -- Joe Conason, columnist and author

From the Publisher

When News Lies By Danny Schechter offers an up to date indictment of the role media played in promoting and misreporting the war on Iraq. It is an analysis of how and why the media got it wrong that pinpoints the failures of journalism and the collusion of media companies with the Bush Administration. The author of EMBEDDED: Weapons of Mass Deception (Prometheus 2003), an account of the TV coverage of the US invasion, returns with a more comprehensive, updated and insider look at the media complicity that Schechter argues "made the war possible."

"Most of the anti-war movement focused on the crimes of the Bush Administration ignoring the mainstream media, its far more effective accomplice," says former network producer Danny Schechter (ABC, CNN). "The government orchestrated the war while the media marketed it. You couldn't have one without the other."

WHEN NEWS LIES includes the feature -length DVD of the prize-winning film WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception). The book will also include the complete script as well as a discussion of the challenges of exposing media with media with a documentary on the media war fought alongside the military campaign. WHEN NEWS LIES also includes a foreword by acclaimed media writer and Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff and prefaces by independent Iraq reporter Dahr Jamail and information warfare specialist Colonel (Ret) Sam Gardiner, a war analyst for the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Select Books; Book and DVD Documentary edition (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590790731
• ISBN-13: 978-1590790731
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,157,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every American Should Read This, January 9, 2006

By 

McJic (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When News Lies (Paperback)

Danny Schechter does an incredible job documenting the mainstream media's complicity in cheerleading, censoring and selling the Iraq War. This book will make every American shudder. Turn off the TV, talk to your friends and get involved before it's too late.

This book reveals it all! Way to go Danny!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful insights on media cover-ups, complicity, and issues, June 23, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When News Lies (Paperback)

An included DVD and script of the feature-length documentary expands the book horizons of WHEN NEWS LIES: MEDIA COMPLICITY AND THE IRAQ WAR, enhancing the inside story of how the media sided with the Iraq War as the American government attempted to manipulate its war coverage behind the scenes. Included on the DVD are the script and film of Schechter's controversial documentary WMD, along with powerful insights on media cover-ups, complicity, and issues.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch