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Eric Alterman
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What Liberal Media?: The Truth about Bias and the News Paperback – January 1, 2003

by Eric Alterman (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 169 ratings
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Widely acclaimed and hotly contested, veteran journalist Eric Alterman's ambitious investigation into the true nature of the U.S. news media touched a nerve and sparked debate across the country. As the question of whose interests the media protects-and how-continues to raise hackles, Alterman's sharp, utterly convincing assessment cuts through the cloud of inflammatory rhetoric, settling the question of liberal bias in the news once and for all. Eye-opening, witty, and thoroughly and solidly researched, What Liberal Media? is required reading for media watchers, and anyone concerned about the potentially dangerous consequences for the future of democracy in America.
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  1. Print length
    357 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 2003
  4. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.95 x 9.21 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0465001777
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0465001774
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Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

Alterman, a columnist for The Nation, says that, to the extent that the liberal media still exists, "I work in the middle of it, and so do many of my friends. And guess what? It's filled with right-wingers." His thesis, a response to recent books by the conservatives Ann Coulter and Bernard Goldberg, is that liberal media outlets take pains to feature opinion from all across the political spectrum (and are in some cases veering rightward); meanwhile, the right-wing media—a well-funded empire of radio stations, TV shows, and magazines—pursues an overtly partisan agenda. A polemic is nothing without passion, and Alterman's argumentative vigor is engaging, although his focus sometimes drifts, and he can happily spend an entire paragraph upbraiding Howard Kurtz for having said that William Kristol's being a Mets fan proves him to be "contrarian." Like most media commentators, Alterman probably overestimates the influence of media commentators, but the meticulous care with which his arguments are sourced and footnoted is in commendable contrast to the efforts of some of his more fire-breathing conservative opponents.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Review

"A polemic is nothing without passion, and Alterman's vigor is engaging.... The meticulous care with which his arguments are sourced and footnoted is in commendable contrast to the efforts of some of his more fire-breathing opponents."

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2003
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465001777
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465001774
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.95 x 9.21 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #4,368,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 169 ratings

About the author

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Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman

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Eric Alterman is Distinguished Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York. From 1995-2020, he was The Nation’s “Liberal Media" columnist and is now a contributing writer to the magazine and also to The American Prospect. In the past, he has been a senior fellow of the Center for American Progress, the World Policy Institute and The Nation Institute, a columnist for Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, MSNBC.com, The Forward, Moment and the Sunday Express (London) as well as a contributor to The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Le Monde Diplomatique, among other publications. Alterman has also been named a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, a Schusterman Foundation Fellow at Brandeis University, a Fellow of the Society of American Historians and a member of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

Alterman is the author of the national bestseller What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News, as well eleven other books, including We Are Not One: A History of America’s Fight Over Israel, published late in 2022 by Basic Books, which was added to The New Yorker’s list of the best books of that year after both the list was initially published. In past years, he has won the George Orwell Prize, the Stephen Crane Literary Award and the Mirror Award for media criticism (twice). Alterman holds a PhD in US history from Stanford (minoring in Jewish Studies), an M.A. in international relations at Yale and a B.A. from Cornell. He lives in Manhattan and tweets at @eric_alterman and has an open Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/alterman.eric

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
169 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-documented, with one review noting how it fills in gaps with well-chosen references. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with customers describing it as a great read.

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ReadabilityDocumentation
12 customers mention "Readability"9 positive3 negative

Customers find the book to be a great read, with one customer describing it as an outstanding resource.

"...does is provide a tool to recognize one direction of bias slant, in a readable, comprehensive and pretty convincing package...." Read more

"...Its a shame bc the author is very good, he just doesn't really look hard enough or care to...." Read more

"...The problem is Bias and Slander are very poor quality books...." Read more

"Definitely worthy of the read if you think the media leans to the left. Otherwise, not worth the read...." Read more

11 customers mention "Documentation"11 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's documentation, with one customer noting it is well-researched and presents many facts, while another mentions it fills in gaps with well-chosen references.

"This book is a MUST READ. It is a complete and very well documented refutation of one of the Big Lies the Conservatives repeat endlessly, namely..." Read more

"...a tool to recognize one direction of bias slant, in a readable, comprehensive and pretty convincing package...." Read more

"...Well researched and documented...." Read more

"...That being said, this book is informative, insightful, and convincing...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • watzizname
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Well-Documented Refutation of a Conservative Big Lie
    Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    This book is a MUST READ. It is a complete and very well documented refutation of one of the Big Lies the Conservatives repeat endlessly, namely that of the "Liberal Media." Granted, there exist a few liberal magazines, such as Mother Jones, The Nation, The Proressive, and Z, and a handful of liberal websites, such as truthout.org and democrats.com. But against these, there are six TV networks and four radio networks, none of which dare to be left of center, and hundreds of newspapers, only a very small percentage of which ever stray left of center.

    Alterman explains and documents the forces which prevent any significant degree of progressivism from appearing in the overwhelming majority of newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasts. He finds only two liberal radio talk show hosts, both on one small station in California late at night and thru the wee hours of the morning. I remember three liberal talk show hosts in New York City, Fred Gale, Alex Bennett, and the gretest talk show host of all, Malachy McCourt, all of whom were forced off the air by a steady barrage of conservative complaints and threats to boycott advertisers. (Read more in Malachy's book Singing My Him Song)

    Many conservative reviewers fault Alterman for using anecdotal evidence; they (perhaps intentionally) miss the point. Yes, he provides a leaven of anecdotal evidence, which he uses to illustrate points he has made and to make for easier reading; nothing but facts and analysis thereof can be terminally boring, and Alterman does not bore, nor should he!

    I have just one small carp: the footnotes are all in a separate section at the end of the book, instead of at the bottom of each page where they belong. This imposes on the reader the infernal nuisance of keeping two places and continually flipping back and forth.

    This book should be required reading, not only for all prospective journalists but for all citizens who need to know what is going on in the world so that they can vote intelligently.

    watziznaym@gmail.com
    67 people found this helpful
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  • Stephen Kilduff
    4.0 out of 5 stars Read them all
    Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    I've just finished Alterman, Goldberg, and have 40 pages left in Coulter. What's my advice if you're looking for the "truth"? Read them all.
    Is there bias in the media's political and social coverage? You betcha. Is it both conservative and liberal? Yep. And is there also plenty of "entertainment" that panders and/or leans in either direction? Of course (but barely touched in any of the three).
    What this book does is provide a tool to recognize one direction of bias slant, in a readable, comprehensive and pretty convincing package.
    But I also find that Goldberg's theory of network news' liberal bias, at least on social issues, remains plausible. And Coulter's not just funny in a slanderous kind of way, she's also correct in her attack on the NY Times (the only paper I consistently read) as socially liberal masquerading as mainstream. (Ignore the business section. In that respect all media is obviously "conservative." But the various Style sections are not just liberal - they're radically un-mainstream. Maybe that's "balanced" reporting?)
    By the way, anyone else notice that both Alterman and Coulter are Cornell grads? So much for conspiratorial university unanimity.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Matthew G. Michaels
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent references, outstanding resource
    Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News
    by Eric Alterman could be seen as the liberal answer to Slander by Anne Coulter and Bias by Bernard Goldberg.
    Eric Alterman makes a very strong case that it is not the supposedly predominantly liberal reporters who influence what news we see on TV, hear on the radio and read in the papers, but it is the far more conservative and influential owners and editors who make those decisions.
    Furthermore, the entire myth of the Liberal media is one invented and promulgated by the right to suit their own ends, by their own admission. Read and find out for yourself!
    Slander and Bias were received with much praise by the right wing establishment because these books stated what the right wanted said.
    The problem is Bias and Slander are very poor quality books. I am a physician and as such I judge non-fiction writing by its ability to back up the facts that it presents. Slander and Bias are virtually un-referenced and therefore, as far as any one can tell, the attacks and innuendo thrown about by Goldberg and Coulter may as well be pure invention. In fact, fully 1/3 of Goldberg�s book is dedicated to griping about his former relationship with Dan Rather. This gives one the distinct feeling That Goldberg saw an opportunity to cash in on a right wing trend in America through his position as a supposed Liberal media insider. I see little value in his book based on it�s own obvious BIAS.
    Coulter�s position is obvious, with her having made recent statement�s such as calling the Columbia shuttle disaster an expensive plane crash and bashing the �Liberal media� for being distracted for one minute from the nations War mania to cover it. The woman clearly has issues. This combined with the fact that Slander is so thinly referenced as to be transparent make it a weak counterpart to the excellently researched and referenced What Liberal Media?
    44 people found this helpful
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  • Dr H
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but dated.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Good expose of the "liberal media" myth that's dogged us now for almost two decades.
    Well researched and documented.

    A bit dated, though, as it refers to people like Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly as if they were still media movers and shakers.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • dirtyal1
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This book is full of hard core facts and a huge amount of supporting evidence to support the author's claim that a reporter or newscater is only as liberal or conservative as the boss who pays his salary. Some of the interesting facts that this author talks about is how many conservative groups pay huge speaking fees to supposedly liberal newscasters and reporters in an effort to buy whatever views they want or do not want. Information on how some groups buy huge numbers of conservative books in order to falsey get these books onto bestseller lists. Conservatives hate this book and I can see why. The book is very well documented and well researched.
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