Free Ride: John McCain and the Media
by David Brock, Paul Waldman
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Book Summary Information
Author: David Brock, Paul WaldmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-25
ISBN: 0307279405
Number of pages: 218
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of Free Ride: John McCain and the Media
Book Review: Accurate, Eye-Opening, Sad and Scary
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is one more example of a crucial piece of information that helps us to fill in a larger and more troubling picture:
The mainstream media relies on myths, narratives and storylines that so shape our perception of people and events that it becomes a near impossiblity for citizens to stay informed about important national issues.
Waldman and Brock of MediaMatters.org have finally issued a book they have been working on for years and it could not be appearing in print at a more useful time. "Free Ride: John McCain and the Media" peels away the press/political onion and gets to the heart of why McCain is truly getting a pass from the mainstream media.
"Hero," "Patriot," "Maverick," and "Straight Talker"--we've all heard the media's buzzwords in regard to John McCain and this book will tell you first--the truth behind them, and second--why you continue to hear them.
It probably won't surprise you to learn once again that the rock has to be lifted up so the sunshine can start to illuminate everything that grows and wriggles underneath. As Americans we have gone through this sometimes painful process more than once and those who are reluctant to follow truth wherever it may lead them might do well to stop at the period at the end of this sentence and go no further.
For others, this book contains education we all need to have if we are going to keep participating in American democracy. This is an important and readable book. It's not only about John McCain. It's also about our supposedly "liberal media" and how it treats our public figures.
And how we can so easily be misled and left behind if we're not more discerning and critical.
Summary of Free Ride: John McCain and the Media
We live in a gotcha media culture that revels in exposing the foibles and hypocrisies of our politicians. But one politician manages to escape this treatment, getting the benefit of the doubt and a positive spin for nearly everything he does: John McCain. Indeed, even during his temporary decline in popularity in 2007, the media continued to support him by lamenting his fate rather than criticizing the flip flops and politicking that undermined his popular image as a maverick.David Brock and Paul Waldman show how the media has enabled McCain's rise from the Keating Five scandal to the underdog hero of the 2000 primaries to his roller-coaster run for the 2008 nomination. They illuminate how the press falls for McCain's ?straight talk? and how the Arizona senator gets away with inconsistencies and misrepresentations for which the media skewers other politicians. This is a fascinating study of how the media shape the political debate, and an essential book for every political junkie.
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