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Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media Paperback – January 1, 2006

by Jeff Cohen (Author), Jim Hightower (Author)
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
See all formats and editions
A lively survey of the three major cable news channels charges Fox, CNN, and MSNBC with failing to cover the modern world's most important issues, sharing a range of whimsical anecdotes by some of today's top-recognized pundits and media personalities.
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  1. Print length
    248 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Polipoint Pr
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    097606216X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0976062165
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Television news is so bad, says Cohen, the founder of progressive media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), that "Walter Cronkite would have big trouble getting a job today in TV news." Thus, the wry media critic kicks off this excellent, high-energy look back at his trials and tribulations at CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. Though opinionated and incisive, Cohen's memoir is not the confession of a tortured progressive; Cohen freely admits to being a "telebimbo" and a "well-paid party to the feeding frenzy." In 1987, Cohen began a stint as a guest on CNN's Crossfire, representing FAIR and progressive concerns; before he knows it, he's an enthusiastic member of the media "kakistocracy," the "rule of the worst." Doing battle with conservative gadflies Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak and others proves exhilarating, but a disturbing trend of "genuflecting to the political right" leads CNN executives to replace Crossfire co-host Michael Kinsley with two Democratic centrists. Surprisingly, Cohen finds punditry nirvana as a panelist on Fox News Channel's News Watch, "the smartest and most balanced show on Fox and perhaps anywhere in cable news." At the behest of Phil Donahue, Cohen moves to MSNBC, where the handwriting is literally on the wall: at network headquarters, posters celebrate news coverage "highlights" like the death of Princess Diana and the Columbine shootings. Though he chides himself and his colleagues repeatedly for ignoring real news in favor of sensationalism ("Nuclear tensions rise; we talk sex on Fox"), Cohen's willingness to mire himself in the swamp of infotainment amply mirrors the situation of viewers drawn into the cable news runaround, doomed to get their news from "three dogs chasing each other's tails to the right."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Polipoint Pr; 1st edition (January 1, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 097606216X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0976062165
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Joseph Phillips
    5.0 out of 5 stars How do we get them to disclose bias?
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    A good look from the inside. We all know the shows are stacked with conservative talking heads, but it's easy to fool the uninformed. They might say the guy is from the Kato Institute, and even that they are libertarian, but the average guy doesn't know what that means. They don't teach the politics of the left and right in high school. They should have to disclose where the think tank gets it's money.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • 1234
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    I appreciated the fact that Jeff has extensive experience at all three cable news networks, and that he doesn't hold back to share his experiences. It's a must read for those who are fed up with the manipulation of the news my corporate America, and those who want firepower to back up their assertions that things are indeed bleak when it comes to the news equaling the truth.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Jimmy Eversole
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book opened my eyes to what I already suspected.
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  • R
    5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless worth
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This book is a must read for anyone interested in the changing arena of journalism and one man's experiences with corporate journalism.
    One person found this helpful
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  • J. Cahan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Still Timely
    Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022
    A media critic got inside cable news
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  • K. G. Soto
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2007
    A good read. Although the book felt a little short - I guess I'm used to novels - Cohen does get through his points without a lot of extra, unneeded pages. Some good anecdotes and references, and kept the story going at a good pace. You probably won't read this cover to cover in one sitting, but it still works read over a period of time.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Jim LaRegina
    5.0 out of 5 stars Behind enemy lines
    Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2012
    CABLE NEWS CONFIDENTIAL: MY MISADVENTURES IN CORPORATE MEDIA recounts the years media critic Jeff Cohen spent working in the cable television news industry he had monitored - and often disparaged - as the founder of the watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, better known as F.A.I.R.. Going behind enemy lines to produce, host, and guest-panel on C.N.N., FOX NEWS CHANNEL, and M.S.N.B.C., author Cohen does not come away with better empathy for the cable news bunch.

    But CABLE NEWS CONFIDENTIAL enables Jeff Cohen to say something I, for one, would not have predicted: FOX NEWS CHANNEL is not the worst place in cable news to work. That distinction belongs to M.S.N.B.C., the reason being fear causes more harm than ignorance. The brass at General Electric-owned M.S.N.B.C., afraid to risk upsetting the military-industrial complex, undermine and ultimately cancel the channel's only popular program because of the reason it was successful, giving voice to those questioning authority. FOX gives the peace movement and other people's interest groups airtime, even if it's just to have their divisive hosts shout them down. But Cohen can't deny FOX offers more points of view than M.S.N.B.C..

    There's one thing I dislike about CABLE NEWS CONFIDENTIAL, but I can barely blame author Cohen as it's something that's become ingrained in political debate: Referring to "conservative" interests and "liberal" interests when what he means is the interests of the one percent and of the 99 percent, respectively. Politics are not right-left. Politics are up-down, the wealthy trying to control and steal from the poor.

    Anyway, read CABLE NEWS CONFIDENTIAL. It's easy to tell a critic, "If it's so bad, why don't you show us how to do it?" Jeff Cohen suited up and gave it all he had, and it makes for an engrossing, often funny (FOX NEWS CHANNEL anecdotes in particular) volume.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Super bowl Steve
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2007
    I really enjoyed reading this book, and highly recommend it to everyone...especially people who don't really understand what a joke this all is..and how it became to be such a complete farce and and absolute threat to Democracy and so many other things sane human beings 'round these parts cherish.
    4 people found this helpful
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