The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the Twenty-First Century

Rating:
Summary: Hypercommercial Antimarkets Revealed
Review: Expect this book to get a wave of one-star liberal-bashing reactionary reviews once the neoconservatives learn that it exists. That's because their entire philosophy, especially concerning the media, is decisively shot down in this powerful manifesto. McChesney's specialty is media ownership patterns and their effects on popular democracy. Here we find that the modern push for deregulation in media industries is leading to a real crisis for democracy in America - in effect there really is a "problem of the media." While megacorporations wrap their campaign for unlimited profits in rhetoric about free speech, the First Amendment, and giving the people what they want, McChesney finds that all of these claims are false and usually downright dishonest.

The current wave of media deregulation has been greased by big media money in the halls of power, and influence peddling among a few power players (including FCC chairman Michael Powell, whom McChesney unapologetically cuts down to size). The common people are left out of the loop, with a loss of media coverage toward local and dissenting viewpoints, and more and more lowest-common denominator media content. Despite the rhetoric about free trade and capitalism, today's media is far from competitive and equitable. Instead it's a hyper-commercial oligarchy of power consolidation and political power grabbing, and McChesney provides plenty of evidence and eloquent arguments about these trends and the damage they are doing to popular democracy.

Certain parts of this book also serve as a monumentally informative primer on modern neoconservative politics, with that movement's almost total contempt for the public interest and slavish kowtowing to corporate bigwigs. That makes this book essential for media watchdogs, plus more general political observers who can then learn more about media trends as a specific issue. A bonus is Chapter 3 in which McChesney brutally deconstructs the standard right-wing claims of "liberal bias" in the media, finding that this is merely an attempt by conservatives to monopolize social thought, in addition to income and political power. This book's final chapter presents a partial happy ending in documenting the vast popular uprising that is now confronting the media giants and their pocketed politicians. The people are up for a long fight against media money and power, but all those who read this outstanding treatise from McChesney will certainly have the knowledge necessary for true democratic progress. [~doomsdayer520~]

Rating:
Summary: Next time you hear 'them' screaming about 'Liberal Media'...
Review: The corporate owners of the media, their executives and their business partners (commercial and political advertisers) are in collusion to make sure that the deck is stacked against regular citizens who are raised to believe in fairness and in favor of those in collusion. Their tools include the Federal Communications Commission and their agenda is the perpetuation of commerce, not an informed citizenry.

This book explains the early traditions of American media, how the media has been coopted and corrupted by the Right and by powerful commercial interests, and how this situation has become self-perpetuating and institutionalized by the FCC.

Don't be persuaded that this book is a left wing screed. Although this issue is a major reason why we have a Bush administration, it is not a personal indictment. Rather, it is an indictment of the system that is, and a case for why it should be (and once was) very different.

Robert McChesney tries hard to be an honest broker of information about the Media and he largely succeeds. In the lengthy (chapter-length) appendix, he is meticulous with his sources and invites further reading on all sides of the issue. While you're reading McChesney, read John Nichols (and particularly the book they wrote together, called "Our Media, Not Theirs").

The next time you hear people ranting about the liberal media, ask them to question who influenced them to think that way and point them to this book. Consider: why is it that the more citizens question the consolidation and bias of the media, the more the issue is fogged up by figures in the media? The answers are simple; McChesney helps the reader understand.