Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I can' say the precise moment it hit me, but I do know that it was on a Sunday night while I was watching the..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In his nearly thirty years at CBS News, Emmy Award winner Bernard Goldberg earned a reputation as one of the preeminent reporters in the television news business. When he looked at his own industry, however, he saw that the media far too often ignored their primary mission: to provide objective, disinterested reporting. Again and again he saw that the news slanted to the left. For years, Goldberg appealed to reporters, producers, and network executives for more balanced reporting, but no one listened. The liberal bias continued.

Now, breaking ranks and naming names, he reveals a corporate news culture in which the closed-mindedness is breathtaking and in which entertainment wins over hard news every time.

From the Publisher

IN HIS NEARLY thirty years at CBS News, Emmy Award- winner Bernard Goldberg earned a reputation as one of the preeminent reporters in the television news business. When he looked at his own industry, however, he saw that the media far too often ignored their primary mission: objective, disinterested reporting. Again and again he saw that they slanted the news to the left. For years Goldberg appealed to reporters, producers, and network executives for more balanced reporting, but no one listened. The liberal bias continued. Now, in Bias, he blows the whistle on the news business, showing exactly how the media slant their coverage while insisting that they're just reporting the facts. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060520841
• ISBN-13: 978-0060520847
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (855 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #308,746 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No New News Here, December 2, 2001

By	Charles E. Brown "Charles E. Brown" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News (Hardcover)

The bias of many major news organizations has been debated for many years. For the most part, liberal or conservative, objective news reporting is illusory. Yet the PR machines of these same organizations feel that the general public is not capable of seeing right through them.

Goldberg's book, in my opinion, does a creditable job of further exposing the mechanics behind this bias. While there is no room to go into great detail, the book attacks ALL media bias; not just liberal (the recent Drudge Report articles seem to highlight just the liberal bias).

Goldberg makes a good argument for reexamining the whole corporate structure of the news business. One can certainly infer that the profits would still be there without the bias.

This reviewer has always liked the reporting of Mr. Goldberg, and this book certainly has brought out what I always suspected about him: that he tries to live up to the expectation of being objective. I would now be curious to see what happens to his career. According to reports, some of his colleagues were not pleased with this book.

I highly recommend this book as food for thought in the high-tech news world that we now live in. Our news organizations need to differentiate between news reporting and editorials.

Charles E. Brown

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Editorial Opinion or News, March 19, 2002

By	M. Richelle Redman "redman815" (Canyon, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News (Hardcover)

This is a decent short course for anyone who is interested in learning how the "news business" operates these days. This book has taken a slam for its "conservative bias", so if you are still in doubt about the author's objectivity, I would highly recommend David Halberstam's The Powers That Be. David Halberstam could never be accused of having a politically conservative viewpoint, but he certainly echoes some of the same concerns about "media slant" of the news. They agree on one vital fact, there should be a clear cut delineation between news and editorial opinion that business mangement and advertising revenues shouldn't cross.

Here's my editorial opinion - it's become increasingly difficult to separate fact from opinion in the so called "main stream" media. Goldberg and Halberstam give anyone who isn't interested in being spoon fed a reasonable standard to question what's being presented as news.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for all, February 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News (Hardcover)

I just finished reading BIAS and I HIGHLY recommend it for people of all political persuasions. A couple things to note:

1. It's a very engaging read -- well written and entertaining on top of infomative.

2. It's much more SUBSTANTIAL than I expected. I thought it would just be an anti-liberal gossip session but it had a LOT of MEAT in it that I think would be interesting to any AMERICAN, not just a conservative one.

3. I've always sensed a liberal bias in the media, but thought that was just "spin" ...reporting the PART of the news that fit their agenda. I was sincerely shocked to learn of instances where they have FLAT OUT LIED to us.

Great Book!