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James Fallows

Breaking The News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy Paperback – January 14, 1997

by James Fallows (Author)

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Why do Americans mistrust the news media? It may be because show like "The McLaughlin Group" reduce participating journalists to so many shouting heads. Or because, increasingly, the profession treats issues as complex as health-care reform and foreign policy as exercises in political gamesmanship. These are just a few of the arguments that have made Breaking the News so controversial and so widely acclaimed. Drawing on his own experience as a National Book Award-winning journalist--and on the gaffes of colleagues from George Will to Cokie Roberts--Fallows shows why the media have not only lost our respect but alienated us from our public life.

"Important and lucid...It moves smartly beyond the usual attacks on sensationalism and bias to the more profound problems in modern American journalism...dead-on."--Newsweek

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vintage
Publication date

January 14, 1997
Dimensions

5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

9780679758563
ISBN-13

978-0679758563
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Featuring a new afterword, "Fallows's rousing jeremiad is an important beacon for everyone concerned about the news media's poor performance in helping the public make sane choices about the way we live, work and govern," said PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Important and lucid . . . It moves smartly beyond the usual attacks on sensationalism and bias to the more profound problems in modern American journalism . . . dead-on.

Review

. . . too much candor and truth to dismiss it . . . -- The New York Times Book Review, Kevin Phillips

From the Inside Flap

Why do Americans mistrust the news media? It may be because show like "The McLaughlin Group" reduce participating journalists to so many shouting heads. Or because, increasingly, the profession treats issues as complex as health-care reform and foreign policy as exercises in political gamesmanship. These are just a few of the arguments that have made Breaking the News so controversial and so widely acclaimed. Drawing on his own experience as a National Book Award-winning journalist--and on the gaffes of colleagues from George Will to Cokie Roberts--Fallows shows why the media have not only lost our respect but alienated us from our public life.

"Important and lucid...It moves smartly beyond the usual attacks on sensationalism and bias to the more profound problems in modern American journalism...dead-on."--Newsweek

From the Back Cover

Why do Americans mistrust the news media? It may be because shows like The McLaughlin Group reduce participating journalists to so many shouting heads. Or because, increasingly, the profession treats issues as complex as health-care reform and foreign policy as exercises in political gamesmanship. Or because muckrakers have given way to "buckrakers" who command huge fees lecturing to the very interest groups they are supposed to cover. These are just some of the arguments that have made Breaking the News so controversial and so widely acclaimed. Drawing on his own experience as a National Book Award-winning journalist - and on the gaffes of colleagues from George Will to Cokie Roberts - Fallows shows why the media have not only lost our respect but alienated us from our public life. Moving from rigorous analysis to concrete proposals, the result is a devastating critique that is indispensable for anyone who makes the news - and anyone who reads or watches it.

About the Author

James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic. He has reported from around the world and has worked in software design at Microsoft, as the editor of U.S. News & World Report, and as a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter. He is currently a news analyst for NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered and a visiting professor at the University of Sydney.

Product information

Technical Details

ASIN

‎0679758569

Publisher

‎Vintage; 1st Vintage Bks Ed., Jan. 1997 edition (January 14, 1997)

Language

‎English

Paperback

‎352 pages

ISBN-10

‎9780679758563

ISBN-13

‎978-0679758563

Item Weight

‎11.8 ounces

Dimensions

‎5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches

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Simone Signoret

An outstanding book by an outstanding author.

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2014

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Outstanding journalist James Fallows wrote this biting critique of the Press in 1996 - yet it is more than ever relevant. An example of a prophet crying in the wilderness. Fallows lays out clearly why the American people have lost their respect for this important profession and its practitioners, and how the Press fails its calling. It does so in two major ways: One is focusing on the sensational instead of on the important, and lacking sorely in fact checking. A well-informed public is indispensable to the proper functioning of a republic; and the fact that our republic is not well functioning at all is in large part due to a Press that does not fulfill its duty to the people.

5 people found this helpful

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Superb book on our most important national issue!

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2004

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Appalled at the biases, distortions and omissions in the media, which have been worsening since 9-11, I recently launched on a campaign of study in regard to learning about the deterioration of the media and the influence of corporate control - and what we can do to counter it. This is one of the best, most informative and most readable of the six books on the subject I've read. I can't emphasize enough how important it is, how much our corporate-run media influence political thinking, decisionmaking and voting and influence not only the outcome of elections but the agenda and actions of politicians - and how motivated we need to become in order to counter it, to become informed about political realities rather than propaganda and myth, and as a country, to become more of a democracy and less of a plutocracy. The biggest difficult we face is that the media itself is not likely to publicize its own corruption, and is actively blocking attempts of people concerned with these issues inform the public. I also highly recommend the books on media disinformation and reform by Robert McChesney, including his mini-books Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy and Our Media, Not Theirs.

39 people found this helpful

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Pantagruel

The content is as brilliant as its title

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2017

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The content is as brilliant as its title. A few years old now, but this book is even more relevant today. It provides a frame to help process and understand the flood of media information.

5 people found this helpful

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terence m. mcnay

written in '96 the book is still very good at explaining why the news media are failing to ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2014

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written in '96 the book is still very good at explaining why the news media are failing to help the public know the truth about how our society works or does not work.

3 people found this helpful

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Arthur Lucchese

good information

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2021

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good information and easy reading

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2009

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uses examples that are easy to follow and a clear writing style. It is for anyone who has a interest in the world of media.

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John Smith

Unique deep Insight in the world of Journalism showing authors and publishers battles.

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2018

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Deep analysis of what goes wrong that makes it impossible to get any real data out of Journalism. Why do authors sweetie using numbers that would give us a sense of proportion?

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

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