What Liberal Media?: The Truth about Bias and the News

What Liberal Media?: The Truth about Bias and the News
by Eric Alterman

What Liberal Media?: The Truth about Bias and the News
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Book Summary Information

Author: Eric Alterman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003
ISBN: 0465001777
Number of pages: 357
Publisher: Basic Books

Book Reviews of What Liberal Media?: The Truth about Bias and the News

Book Review: A Welcome Breath of Sanity
Summary: 5 Stars

Bravo! Someone has the courage to stand up and say that black is black amidst all the conservative pundits who tell us otherwise. He points out what should be the rather obvious absurdity of the loud complaints of "liberal media" when:

There are no household names of liberal talk show hosts, but there are legions of conservative attack dogs: Limbaugh, Hannity, Levine, Coulter, and Ollie (Got-off-on-legal-technicality-for-my-Iran Contra-crimes) North--just to name a few.

The news media practically crucifies Clinton for such silly things as Monica Lewinsky and the White House Travel Staff firings, but looks the other way when G.W. Bush is shredding the Constitution and international law with his torture chambers and denial of due process--not to mention that he lied about every major policy initiative, couching them in liberal terms...making them seem like they were the opposite of what they were.

The top-rated news channel (full of whaco conservatives) constantly calls the media liberal.

Finally, someone has the courage to say what's really going on: corporate cash has utterly corrupted the news media, making it serve up a steady diet of lies, half truths, and idiotic fluff (I just saw George Stephanopolous interviewing the couple who got kicked off Dancing with the Stars. For God's sake!)

Summary of What Liberal Media?: The Truth about Bias and the News

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.

The incredulity begins with the title What Liberal Media?, journalist Eric Alterman's refutation of widely flung charges of left-wing bias, and never lets up. The book is unlikely to make many friends among conservative media talking heads. Alterman picks apart charges made by Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, George Will, Sean Hannity, and others (even the subtitle refers to a popular book by former CBS producer Bernard Goldberg that argues a lefty slant in news coverage). But the perspectives of less-incendiary figures, including David Broder and Howard Kurtz, are also dissected in Alterman's quest to prove that not only do the media lack a liberal slant but that quite the opposite is true. Much of Alterman's argument comes down to this: the conservatives in the newspapers, television, talk radio, and the Republican party are lying about liberal bias and repeating the same lies long enough that they've taken on a patina of truth. Further, the perception of such a bias has cowed many media outlets into presenting more conservative opinions to counterbalance a bias, which does not, in fact, exist, says Alterman. In methodically shooting down conservative charges, Alterman employs extensive endnotes, all of which are referenced with superscript numbers throughout the body of the book. Those little numbers seem to say, "Look, I've done my homework." What Liberal Media? is a book very much of 2003 and will likely lose some relevance as political powers and media arrangements evolve. But it's likely to be a tonic for anyone who has suspected that in a media environment overflowing with conservatives, the charges of bias are hard to swallow. For liberals hoping someone will take off the gloves and mix it up with the verbal brawlers of the right, Eric Alterman is a champion. --John Moe

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