When the Press Fails – Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion (CHUP)) - Hardcover

Bennett, W Lance; Lawrence, Regina G; Livingston, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226042847 ISBN 13: 9780226042848

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2007

Synopsis

A sobering look at the intimate relationship between political power and the news media, "When the Press Fails" argues that the dependence of reporters on official sources disastrously thwarts coverage of dissenting voices from outside the Beltway.The result is both an indictment of official spin and an urgent call to action that questions why the mainstream press failed to challenge the Bush administration's arguments for an invasion of Iraq or to illuminate administration policies underlying the Abu Ghraib controversy. Drawing on revealing interviews with Washington insiders and analysis of content from major news outlets, the authors illustrate the media's unilateral surrender to White House spin whenever oppositional voices elsewhere in government fall silent. Contrasting these grave failures with the refreshingly critical reporting on Hurricane Katrina - a rare event that caught officials off guard, enabling journalists to enter a nospin zone - "When the Press Fails" concludes by proposing new practices to reduce reporters' dependence on power.

About this title

Review:

"When the Press Fails confronts some of the most important questions now facing the press, the public, and our shared democracy-and does so with rare precision and insight. This book has the power to ignite a much-needed public discussion about the role of the media' in public life and it should be required reading in newsrooms across the country."-Dan Rather, global correspondent, HDNet

" Political partisans have tried for years to discredit journalists, resulting in a press corps now overly conscious of its image. This book illustrates how America gets hurt when journalists are too intimidated to do their jobs." -- Bob Edwards, host of the "Bob Edwards Show" and former host of "Morning Edition"
" "When the Press Fails" confronts some of the most important questions now facing the press, the public, and our shared democracy-- and does so with rare precision and insight. This book has the power to ignite a much-needed public discussion about the role of ' the media' in public life and it should be required reading in newsrooms across the country." -- Dan Rather, global correspondent, HDNet
" "When the Press Fails" is a valuable and clarifying book for people in the news media-- and perhaps even more for members of the public who feel abused by the press' s failures. Inside and outside the news business, everyone knows that something serious is wrong with the way Americans get and assess information. This book does a very good job of explaining what that something is, and what parts of it can be addressed." -- James Fallows, author of "Breaking the News "and correspondent for the "Atlantic Monthly"
" Not all Washington journalists will applaud the arrival of "When the Press Fails," but they should and probably will read it. It is a stinging critique of media coverage of the Bush administration, especially its policy in Iraq, and it raises serious questions about how the White House has ' spun' much of the media into a form of docile dependency on official handouts, leading to an overall failure of accountability. Thus is the public shortchanged. Between the lines is a cry for the media to wake up to its social and political responsibilities."
" Political partisans have tried for years to discredit journalists, resulting in a press corps now overly conscious of its image. This book illustrates how America& nbsp; gets hurt when journalists are too intimidated to do their jobs. " -- Bob Edwards, host of the Bob Edwards Show and former host of Morning Edition
" Not all Washington journalists will applaud the arrival of When the Press Fails, but they should and probably will read it. It is a stinging critique of media coverage of the Bush administration, especially its policy in Iraq, and it raises serious questions about how the White House has ' spun ' much of the media into a form of docile dependency on official handouts, leading to an overall failure of accountability. Thus is the public shortchanged. & nbsp; Between the lines is a cry for the media to wake up to its social and political responsibilities. " & lt; Marvin Kalb, founding director and senior fellow of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University& gt;
" When the Press Fails is a valuable and clarifying book for people in the news media -- and perhaps even more for members of the public who feel abused by the press ' s failures. Inside and outside the news business, everyone knows that something serious is wrong with the way Americans get and assess information. This book does a very good job of explaining what that something is, and what parts of it can be addressed. " -- James Fallows, author of Breaking the News and correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly
0;Political partisans have tried for years to discredit journalists, resulting in a press corps now overly conscious of its image. This book illustrates how America gets hurt when journalists are too intimidated to do their jobs.1;2;Bob Edwards, host of the "Bob Edwards Show" and former host of "Morning Edition"
-- Bob Edwards, host of the Bob Edwards Show and former host of Morning Edition

0; "When the Press Fails" confronts some of the most important questions now facing the press, the public, and our shared democracy2;and does so with rare precision and insight. This book has the power to ignite a much-needed public discussion about the role of 6;the media7; in public life and it should be required reading in newsrooms across the country.1;2;Dan Rather, global correspondent, HDNet
-- Dan Rather, global correspondent, HDNet

About the Author:

W. Lance Bennett is professor of political science and the Ruddick C. Lawrence Professor of Communication at the University of Washington. Regina G. Lawrence is the Kevin P. Reilly Sr. Chair of Political Communication in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. Steven Livingston is professor of media and international affairs in the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0226042847
• ISBN 13: 9780226042848
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 222