BuzzFlash Reviews

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS

We are a little befuddled why books about the media don't sell better, on BuzzFlash or in general.

The current Bushevik military-industrial-corporate war complex could not exist without an enabling mainstream corporately-beholden print and broadcast megaphone. There wouldn't be a hunger for Internet sites like BuzzFlash if the so-called "news" profession hadn't turned into a mimeograph machine for the propaganda and "narratives" peddled by the White House and the RNC.

So why aren't progressives more concerned about the deceptive and deceitful messaging that is disguised as "news" by television, radio and most major newspapers (not to mention the leading wire services, with McClatchy being a rare exception)?

Perhaps, it is because it is so hard to get a handle around the media problem. Perhaps it is because progressives like to advance public policy, not deal with the details of big media.

There are some signs of change. FreePress.net has been enormously successful at rallying together an energetic and tenacious media reform advocacy community.

But wealthy liberals still, for the most part, shy away from investing in media. They put their money into backing candidates and into political advocacy efforts. But they don't generally "invest" in providing truthful news to the American people, which is a big, big mistake.

Meanwhile, most Americans are perceiving the "news" through a fictional prism scripted out by White House communications handlers and Republican pollsters and focus group experts.

All that being said, Todd Gitlin, a professor at Columbia University, has revised and updated his brilliant book on how the technology of the media -- its corporatist Republican political bias aside -- is transforming the way we view historical context. In fact, given the torrent of "news" that we receive, at ever increasingly fast news cycles, we have -- in many ways -- become a population unable to remember that someone said or did even the day before. And when a "torrent of images and sounds overwhelms our lives" we are at the mercy of people who can manipulate historical lessons, because news no longer has a context: it becomes ahistorical.

Gitlin offers great insight into an era where we receive the "mini-news dramas" that we see on television with "disposable emotions." All information and response is transitory. We surf the wave of "news," and then hop on our surfboard until the next crest of water -- or news cycle in this case.

For deep thinkers, "Media Unlimited" is a vitally important book in getting to the heart of how modern media technology and the entertainment industry have made us more interested in the "rush" of the news than the content.

Just think at how we arrived at a point when a massive bombing campaign that killed thousands upon thousands of people became packaged as a "shock and awe" fireworks display by the television network news programs.

We highly recommend the updated and revised version of "Media Unlimited" to those who want a thoughtful, rich exploration of how we have marooned ourselves through an addiction to the rapid pace at which we receive information.

From Booklist:

Gitlin, a professor of journalism and culture, examines why and how it has come about that so much of our time is spent being bombarded by communications, information, and entertainment from a variety of media. Gitlin wants to avoid the typical analysis of the effects of the media on society and, instead, looks at the media as an experience in itself, with no definitive meaning necessarily attached, analyzing the feelings elicited by a stream of information. He concedes that his objective is a gamble, but it pays off. Citing observations by Marx, de Tocqueville, Orwell, and a stream of others, Gitlin offers a short, dizzying history of how we got to the point where we are supersaturated with a torrent of information coming at us at incredible speed. The author explores how we manage and have even begun to resist media saturation, as we step back, take a breath, and consider "what we want to do about it besides change channels." Readers interested in contemporary media and culture will enjoy this absorbing book.

This is not for casual, light reading. But for those seeking profound insight, it is well worth the time invested in following Gitlin's exploration of how the media has, indeed, become the message.

BuzzFlash will be posting two interviews with Gitlin before the end of 2007, including one about another book, "The Bulldozer and the Big Tent: Blind Republicans, Lame Democrats, and the Recovery of American Ideals."

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS