South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias (Hardcover)

by Brian C. Anderson (Author)
Key Phrases: illiberal liberalism, conservative kids, conservative titles, New York Times, South Park, President Bush (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Brian Anderson tells the communications saga of the last twenty years with verve, intelligence, and flair." -- Michael Novak, winner of the Templeton Prize 1994

Product Description
For the better part of 30 years, liberal bias has dominated mainstream media. But author and political journalist Brian Anderson reveals in his new book that the era of liberal dominance is going the way of the dodo bird.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc. (April 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895260190
• ISBN-13: 978-0895260192
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #337,791 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hilarious-one of the funniest things I've read in ages!!, April 4, 2005

By	Paula Ann Buckley (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

First, let me say that the chapter on anti-liberal political humor in South Park Conservatives is hilarious-one of the funniest things I've read in age! With rich examples, Anderson shows the subversive genius of South Park's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and gives the reader an excellent sense of what comedians like Nick Di Paolo and Colin Quinn, and talk show host Dennis Miller, are up to in their humor. The chapter is worth the price of the book.

But there is lots more of interest in South Park Conservatives, which provides a clear-eyed view, expressed in reader-friendly, punchy prose, of the remarkable shifts in media and culture that are undermining liberal control of the institutions of information and argument. Want to know why liberals aren't good at talk radio? Read the chapter on the rise of conservative talk radio and find out. Anderson's take on how the blogosphere is transforming politics-drawing on extensive interviews with everyone from Andrew Sullivan to Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit)-is a model of lucid analysis (plus, it's pretty funny too, except maybe to CBS News and Dan Rather). The chapter on Fox News, also based on behind-the-scenes interviews, in this case with Fox people like Sean Hannity and Dick Morris, offers lessons both liberals and conservatives can learn from. The final chapter, on the rising conservatism-or at least anti-liberalism-of college kids, is fascinating, in part because so the reader encounters so many interesting student voices.

One last thing about this book should be noted: it's a real triumph of reporting. So few books, by conservatives or liberals, feature any reporting these days. One of the pleasures of South Park Conservatives is the thickness of detail-everything from Neilson ratings to off-the-cuff remarks by comedian Colin Quinn about PC critics. You come away from the book knowing a lot more.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Did they even read it...?, December 15, 2005

By	Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Now this is not a great book, but it's a pretty interesting book. It's about, in large part, a demographic that Anderson calls "South Park Conservatives" because they're philisophically conservative- or at least more conservative than big-L liberal- but they reject much of the social conservatism that has characterized old-school Conservatism or modern day religious conservatism.

Personally, I find "South Park"'s vulgarity usually exceeds my taste boundries, but I've seen it enough to understand the demographic Anderson is talking about- my under-40 co-workers.

That having been said, it's a pretty funny book. Anderson tells a good story- even if I may differ with him on a number of points- and does so in a way that's pretty darn funny. But a number of the reviewers don't seem to have gotten far enough to have figured that out. For them, let me explain:

1. It's not a book about South Park

2. It's not arguing the thesis that South Park is a conservative show.

3. You should really turn off the TV once in a while.

44 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Important!, March 28, 2005

By	Nicole Egloff (Irvington, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Brian Anderson has, in honest and fair detail, provided me with hope that my children (and my husband and I) will experience a far healthier media environment than that to which I was exposed growing up. South Park Conservatives is factual and capably written. It is good to know, as Anderson reports from the "inside", that a new, less Left-dominated, era is dawning on our editorial pages, on the airwaves, on campus, and through the Internet.

I found the book to be illuminating and a quick read. As a person whose interests customarily lie beyond politics, I am happy that I found a book on the topic that was so compelling and eminently readable. Hats off to Mr. Anderson!