I look forward to Sharyl Attkisson's Full Measure every week. I appreciate that her reporting is in
depth, relevant, and not focused on whatever the "hot" topic of the day is. One of my greatest
frustrations is that that most Sunday morning "news" programs (Meet the Press, Face the
Nation, This Week, etc.) are almost carbon copies of each other, sub out Chuck Todd for
George Stephanopoulos or John Dickerson. The lineups are nearly identical and both the
commentators and the guests seem to be on very limited talking points. Really the only
difference comes down to style and preference much like the difference between a Toyota and
a Honda. I prefer Face the Nation to Meet the Press much like someone might prefer the Accord to a Camry. The little nuances make them feel different but really they are almost the same.
Attkisson's program is different. She is not a political reporter although her work does encompass the political - how could it not? Instead her stories are focused on reporting news like America's nuclear waste or the potential impacts of gadolinium not recycling opinions about Trump or Clinton. She also appears to be fairly balanced in her reporting; while I can watch most shows and be able to say without a doubt whether the host leans right or left, I would not be so quick to judge Attkisson's politics. This is important because this a major reason I was drawn to The Smear. Attkisson strikes me as what reporters should be - as neutral as possible (recognizing that by the
nature or being human there is always some level of bias). I also was incredibly appreciative of the fact that I learned about her book not from her shamelessly plugging it on her show (like so
many hosts do ) but from an interview she gave on another show, not even on her network.
The premise of The Smear is that we live in an age where the news media is corrupted by
smear campaigns conducted by partisan interests trying to blur what is fact and fiction.
According to Attkisson many reputable media sources have been compromised by journalists
and/or producers willingness to accept and even solicit the narratives distributed by partisan
sources masquerading as neutral non-profits, think tanks, etc. Instead of conducting
independent investigations and/or trying to find balance for news stories, news media is tossing
journalistic ethics to the wind for easy pieces fed to them by partisan interests and “smear
artists.”
In some ways I think the term “blur” is a more appropriate term for what is happening. The intent is to confuse and/or distract from the issue so that the less favorable narrative is
hidden/discredited and the more favorable narrative is marketed/shared. These smears/blurs are instigated through outright lies/fiction , the misconstruing of grains of truth, illegal planting of/manipulation of information, and/or astroturfing. When consumers can’t tell what is fact from fiction, the truth is easier to manipulate. In clearly organized detail, Attkisson lays out the progressively more prevalent takeover of media by “smear artists” and the eventual evolution to what is now been coined as “fake news.” Interestingly though many of those demanding that fake news be suppressed, are the original architects of smear tactics. Attkisson also shares examples how smear campaigns are conducted by governments (including our own) as well as partisan interests outside of government.
While The Smear is a very worthy read, it was not quite what I had expected. In many ways the
book felt like a hit job (a smear perhaps?) on David Brock, and to a lesser extent, Hillary Clinton, et.al. Brock is portrayed as a villainous puppet master much as the Koch's were portrayed in Jane Mayer's Dark Money. Their roles in the development of smear is unquestionable but I couldn’t help but wonder why it seemed as if only token coverage was given to some laudable conservative smear artists. Regardless of the culprit’s political leanings, the mechanistic techniques remain the same; I just wish that there was a little more balance of sides, which is surprising because I have always felt like Sharyl Attkisson was balanced. In this case I think the she lost a little of that.
My other critique is a stylistic one. In the introduction she warns that a lot of her sources asked to remain anonymous for obvious reasons when you read the book. Even so I wish she gave
more detailed citation of facts/articles (footnotes, bibliography, something). As I read about different events, articles, etc., I found myself regularly checking online sources to verify/find more information. This felt awkward given the book calls into question many of the online checking sources I had to employ (including Google).
Even with the mild partisan imbalance and the citation protocols used, the core message of The
Smear is one that needs to be heard and heeded. Just over ten years ago Larry Beinhart gave
caution to similar issues in his book Fog Facts. His work was largely ignored. With Sharyl
Attkisson’s reputation and more focused attention on the subject, perhaps now the message can be heard and the spiral of media smear can be curtailed.
- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Harper (June 27, 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0062468162
- ISBN-13: 978-0062468161
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
- Customer Reviews: 935 customer ratings
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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