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C. John Sommerville

Takehiko Hayasi

How the News Makes Us Dumb: The Death of Wisdom in an Information Society Paperback – March 17, 1999

by C. John Sommerville (Author)

4.3 33 ratings

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We who live at the end of the twentieth century are better informed--and more quickly informed--than any people in history. So why do we also seem more confused, divided and foolish than ever before? Some pundits criticize the news media for political bias. Other analysts worry that up-to-the-minute news reports on radio and television oversimplify complex realities. Still more critics point out that today's reporters can't possibly be experts on the wide variety of subjects they cover. Historian C. John Sommerville thinks the problem with news is more basic. Focusing his critique on the news at its best, he concludes that even at its best it is beyond repair. Sommerville argues that news began to make us dumber when we insisted on having it daily. Now millions of column inches and airtime hours must be filled with information--every day, every hour, every minute. The news, Sommerville says, becomes the driving force for much of our public culture. News schedules turn politics into a perpetual campaign. News packaging influences the timing, content and perception of government initiatives. News frenzies make a superstition out of scientific and medical research. News polls and statistics create opinion as much as they gauge it. Lost in the tidal wave of information is our ability to discern truly significant news--and our ability to recognize and participate in true community. This eye-opening book is for everyone dissatisfied with the state of the news media, but especially for those who think the news really informs them about and connects them with the real world. Read it and you may never again know the tyranny of the daily newspaper or the nightly news broadcast.

Print length

155 pages
Language

English
Publisher

IVP
Publication date

March 17, 1999
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

0830822038
ISBN-13

978-0830822034
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Neil Postman
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4.3 out of 5

33 global ratings

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DSquared

Amazing book, a non partisan game changer!

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020

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This book truly was game changing for me. The author looks far past partisan politics here and gives examples of dated and sourced news headlines at the end of each chapter which illustrate the points he has made. My favorite quote is by legendary media critic A. J. Liebling: “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” He wrote this in 1959 or 1960, I’m not certain which. This is still so true even though we get our news from different platforms today. Even though the title sounds like rather dry reading, it’s actually a page turner, in my opinion. It is a fairly short book, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.

If I could give it 10 stars, I would.

6 people found this helpful

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Bernard M. Patten

Don't Be a News Junky - Kick the Habit Now

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2000

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How can you know for sure that they are not telling you the truth? That is the question answered by this little gem of a book. We have all known that if you watch TV you are wasting your time for TV is junk food for the mind - mental material of no intellectual or lasting value. In fact, studies have shown that while watching TV all the great powers of the human mind are quiescent. The sadder part about this is that TV prevents us from using that time for better purposes such as sleeping or reading or, should I even mention it in this hyped up era, for thinking. Lost opportunities to learn and think eventually take their toll and make us dumb. The same holds true for reading the newspapers. The paucity of wit and wisdom in the news is no accident, as Professor Sommerville so well knows. It is by design. And the design is to sell more newspapers and their glitz bag counterparts, magazines. The design is to make us information junkies and overdose us on trivia. Fortunately, the solution to this gigantic problem might be close at hand. Read his book and discover for yourself what that solution is.

34 people found this helpful

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Tufted Jay

Cuts right to the chase

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2011

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I think this is a wake up call for anyone who thinks the news is a good source of information. While I don't agree with every aspect of the author's perspective, I think he makes many valid points that anyone should consider before believing what they read, hear or see on the news. Thanks for a good read!

4 people found this helpful

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Stephen Wilson notes

Important Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2014

Verified Purchase

A well-reasoned, provocative book. Challenges many assumptions. Accessible to average Joe's like me, but also important to the intellectual world.

7 people found this helpful

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Gina Burgess

stupid

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2014

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Obviously this guy has never worked in journalism. The extreme liberal viewpoint highlights how one should be discerning while consuming news, but the news does not make one dumb! It is how and where you consume it that is either smart or stupid.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

Excellent

2 people found this helpful

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DWS

How the News Makes Us Dumb

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2009

Verified Purchase

Wow! What a book!! Whether you are into the "news" or not, you need to read this eye opener book.

5 people found this helpful

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Michael James

news addiction is making everyone boring and dumb

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2020

Book is fantastic! Especially the bit where the author shows the different headlines and the use of the words "cuts" and "Tragedy" Most news is completely pointless. Most if not all. How is it helping my life? It's not. Case in point: I decided to loo cup Brexit...opinions abound. out of the corner of my eye I see an article in the NYTimes, "Avocado hand"
I thought there was some avocado illness going around so I looked. Turns out people are so stupid they don't know how to cut open an avocado and injure themselves; therefore, avocado hands. Screw it. I'm done with all news...it's all so pointless.

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How the News Makes Us Dumb: The Death of Wisdom in an Information Society Paperback – March 17, 1999

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