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Democracy and the News
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Journalism has plenty of failings, and while Columbia University sociology professor Gans is sure to point out many of them in this book, he also holds out hope for the profession's redemption. The esteemed social critic laments that disempowerment-both economic and political-has become "the normal state of the citizenry," with people thinking they have little control over much of anything these days. Journalism, says Gans, does little to help. Obsessed with profits and entertainment over the public-minded debate of issues, media outlets have sunk in Gans's esteem to where their reporters and anchors are seen as the moral equivalents of politicians and lawyers. Of course, these problems have been debated for decades; but Gans puts forward various suggestions for how both journalism and democracy in America may be improved, including increasing the diversity of newsrooms and strengthening the voice of citizen lobbies. It's a high-minded treatise and a welcome counterbalance to the constant cries of liberal bias in the media. It might be wishful thinking, though, to hope that Gans's prescriptions will have any effect on the behavior of today's media monoliths.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"This season's best book on the media"--Ellen Hetzel, Poynteronline
"Gans radiates decency and common sense. Like Tocqueville, he also brings something of the neutral tone of a foreign observer (he arrived in his teens as a refugee), and he is refreshingly free of partisan bias."--Ted Widmer, New York Times Book Review
"Gans ends with suggestions on how to improve both the news and American democracy that range from the practical (more expertise for beat reporters) to the bold (less objectivity, more voice) to the hopelessly idealistic (rethinking democratic theory)."--John Giuffo, Village Voice
"No book on news and government offers more good sense in more compact fashion. Anyone tired of bombast about 'liberal bias'--or for that matter, about a nation mired in conservatism by the opposite bias--should consult Gans' well-organized state-of-the-art compendium of evidence and argument. Democracy and the News is crisp, seasoned, clarifying, realistic, and impressively hopeful. It will settle a lot of arguments."--Todd Gitlin
"Herbert Gans has written a wise and lucid book that draws on his profound and nuanced understanding of the media, and his deep commitment to democratic ideals. Most admirably, Gans not only gives us a crisp catalog of the impediments to a media that serves democracy, but actually dares to consider steps toward overcoming them."--Frances Fox Piven
"The biggest surprise in Herbert Gans' new book isn't his blunt diagnosis of what ails journalism or his fresh, often funky suggestions for reform. The biggest surprise is his challenge to basic assumptions about news and democracy.... Gans is most provocative when challenging our articles of faith, particularly the view that if the press just better informs citizens, then they will become more involved in civic life and democracy will benefit. Gans argues that lack of power is more debilitating to citizens than lack of information.... Gans' assessment of why audiences and journalists seem estranged is perceptive and pertinent, and at least one of his conclusions seems indisputable: 'Journalists cannot function as messengers,' he reasons, unless the recipients want and need them.'"--American Journalism Review
See all Editorial Reviews
Journalism has plenty of failings, and while Columbia University sociology professor Gans is sure to point out many of them in this book, he also holds out hope for the profession's redemption. The esteemed social critic laments that disempowerment-both economic and political-has become "the normal state of the citizenry," with people thinking they have little control over much of anything these days. Journalism, says Gans, does little to help. Obsessed with profits and entertainment over the public-minded debate of issues, media outlets have sunk in Gans's esteem to where their reporters and anchors are seen as the moral equivalents of politicians and lawyers. Of course, these problems have been debated for decades; but Gans puts forward various suggestions for how both journalism and democracy in America may be improved, including increasing the diversity of newsrooms and strengthening the voice of citizen lobbies. It's a high-minded treatise and a welcome counterbalance to the constant cries of liberal bias in the media. It might be wishful thinking, though, to hope that Gans's prescriptions will have any effect on the behavior of today's media monoliths.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"This season's best book on the media"--Ellen Hetzel, Poynteronline
"Gans radiates decency and common sense. Like Tocqueville, he also brings something of the neutral tone of a foreign observer (he arrived in his teens as a refugee), and he is refreshingly free of partisan bias."--Ted Widmer, New York Times Book Review
"Gans ends with suggestions on how to improve both the news and American democracy that range from the practical (more expertise for beat reporters) to the bold (less objectivity, more voice) to the hopelessly idealistic (rethinking democratic theory)."--John Giuffo, Village Voice
"No book on news and government offers more good sense in more compact fashion. Anyone tired of bombast about 'liberal bias'--or for that matter, about a nation mired in conservatism by the opposite bias--should consult Gans' well-organized state-of-the-art compendium of evidence and argument. Democracy and the News is crisp, seasoned, clarifying, realistic, and impressively hopeful. It will settle a lot of arguments."--Todd Gitlin
"Herbert Gans has written a wise and lucid book that draws on his profound and nuanced understanding of the media, and his deep commitment to democratic ideals. Most admirably, Gans not only gives us a crisp catalog of the impediments to a media that serves democracy, but actually dares to consider steps toward overcoming them."--Frances Fox Piven
"The biggest surprise in Herbert Gans' new book isn't his blunt diagnosis of what ails journalism or his fresh, often funky suggestions for reform. The biggest surprise is his challenge to basic assumptions about news and democracy.... Gans is most provocative when challenging our articles of faith, particularly the view that if the press just better informs citizens, then they will become more involved in civic life and democracy will benefit. Gans argues that lack of power is more debilitating to citizens than lack of information.... Gans' assessment of why audiences and journalists seem estranged is perceptive and pertinent, and at least one of his conclusions seems indisputable: 'Journalists cannot function as messengers,' he reasons, unless the recipients want and need them.'"--American Journalism Review
See all Editorial Reviews
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