When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina

Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion

by W. Lance Bennett, Regina G. Lawrence, Steven Livingston

A sobering look at the intimate relationship between political power and the news media, When the Press Fails argues 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 no-spin zone— When the Press Fails concludes by proposing new practices to reduce reporters’ dependence on power.
 
“The hand-in-glove relationship of the U.S. media with the White House is mercilessly exposed in this determined and disheartening study that repeatedly reveals how the press has toed the official line at those moments when its independence was most needed.”—George Pendle, Financial Times
 
“Bennett, Lawrence, and Livingston are indisputably right about the news media’s dereliction in covering the administration’s campaign to take the nation to war against Iraq.”—Don Wycliff, Chicago Tribune
 


“[This] analysis of the weaknesses of Washington journalism deserves close attention.”—Russell Baker, New York Review of Books

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

278 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2007

Reviews

[Rūta Putnikienė]

Seni įvykiai - Bušo prezidentavimo laikai, invazija į Iraką remiantis melagingomis prielaidomis, kankinimai Abu Ghraib kalėjime, “Katrinos” uragano padarinių valdymas. Galėtum sakyti, kad nebeįdomu, seniai buvo, bet kai taip tirštai ištyrinėtas ir išanalizuotas JAV žiniasklaidos vaidmuo, o tiksliau netgi neveiksnumas tuo periodu, tai duoda peno mintims permąstyti ir šių dienų žiniasklaidos ir valdžios santykį. Ne tik JAV, bet ir pas mus Lietuvoje. Prisižymėjau pati sau įvairių įžvalgų, tikrai yra ką pavirškinti.

Vienintelis priekaištas knygai - sunkokai skaitosi.

[Emma]

Should’ve been an essay. Most of the book was an experiment on repeating itself as many times as possible. Good information, but you’re going to skim most of it when you start reading the same thing for the twentieth time.

[Robin]

Needless to say, this book will dismember the Bush Administration for its lying and megalomania. I am wondering what I will learn about Clinton however. (University of Chicago Press) Well written so far...

Slow going. No time to read...:(

I cannot get into this now...I know the ending. Ha.

[Conchita Campos]

Incredibly informative but depressing. Too dry at times. Not sure if I agree entirely with the premise either but overall, it provides a deep look into the problems of the mainstream media.

[Monte]

very depressing